iFeel a Change
by Assassin master ezio 91
Summary: The trio are caught up in a whirlwind of adolescence, and when Carly learns about Freddie and Sam's kiss, the whirlwind builds up into a full blown storm. Things are changing, how will they deal with it? Creddie, Sam/OC
1. iDiscover a Secret

**iFeel a Change**

First chapter of an iCarly series I have worked on previously but took down to improve. I hope you enjoy it.

**Important: When I took this down I worked with a beta reader named A Writer's Right to Write, he helped me a lot, improving both the story and my own writing with helpful tips and adding his own style to my work. Sadly, in late September/early October last year he died in a car crash. I have only just now been able to bring myself to finally write and upload this series and wish to dedicate it to his memory**

Disclaimer: iCarly belongs to Dan Schneider.

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**iDiscover a Secret**

It was a dull September evening in Seattle. Some break from the dull monotony was being provided however by the hit web show, iCarly. Broadcast from Apartment 8-C in Bushwell Plazza. The show had initially been set up after the two hostesses, Carly Shay and Sam Puckett, had made a joke about one of their teachers and had been forced to find participants for the school talent contest. The teacher had dismissed their choices after a mishap that led to another joke about said teacher, so they showcased the talents on a web show. The show had since become popular and they continued to produce it, providing comedy and various silly stunts to give their audience a laugh. The web hostess of the show, Carly Shay was currently doubled over, laughing at the latest joke. She was a petit young woman with long ebony hair and chocolate brown eyes. She straightened up and smiled over at he co-hostess, Samantha 'Sam' Puckett; she was shorter than Carly, but surprisingly strong. She had a well-developed body with long wavy blonde hair and light blue eyes. Running the camera, as he usually did, their friend Fredward 'Freddie' Benson. He had been close friends with them for a long time; he had also had a crush on Carly since they were in sixth grade. He had short brown hair, brown eyes and a well-toned, slightly muscular physique. The show had gone really well and now they were reaching the finale. The plan was to use the influence of iCarly to try and encourage kids to eat more vegetables, by eating two large pieces of squash on camera. They both held the squash out before biting into it. While Carly had an easy time, when Sam bit into her piece she felt pain. Carly swallowed her piece and turned to Sam.

"Sam you okay?" She asked, worried.

In response Sam spat out the remains of the squash in her mouth and reached into it, pulling something out. Carly stared wide-eyed.

"Oh my god, you lost a tooth."

Sam held the tooth up to the camera. "You see what you get for eating vegetables." She quipped.

Freddie shut off the camera and ended the show.

Immediately they both rushed to Sam.

"Sam, are you okay?" Carly asked.

Surprisingly, Sam didn't seem bothered by the loss of her tooth and simply brushed off their concerns and headed to the large elevator in the studio, really the top floor of Apartment 8-C. She pressed the button, entered the elevator and headed down. Carly and Freddie shared a look, surprised at Sam's lack of concern.

"I can't believe this, Sam's just lost a tooth and she doesn't seem to care." Carly remarked, worried, Freddie shook his head, smiling.

"I'm that this is the first time she lost a tooth with all of the scuffles she's been in."

Carly grinned at him, relaxing even further. "'Scuffles'?" she asked.

Freddie shrugged and smiled back; "Would you prefer if I said 'brawls'?"

"Depends," Carly said, grinning more, "Would we get in a scuffle if I said yes?"

Freddie crossed his arms, smirking. "Watch it, Shorty."

"Hey, I'm taller…" Carly trailed off looking at him surprised. Freddie was a good two or three inches taller than her! "When did you get taller than me?"

"Same time the voice got lower?"

She shook her head as the elevator stopped. "Wow, a deeper voice _and_ a growth spurt? What else are you hiding underneath that new puberty?"

Freddie grinned mischievously. "Want to find out?"

"No," she said teasingly, and he frowned at her.

He shook his head and they headed downstairs after Sam. The two stepped out into the Shay living room, and Freddie shook his head as he took in the sight of it. It had the standard living room stuff like a television, coffee table, couch and chairs, but that was that was really all that was left that was usual. There were her brother's sculptures (such as a robot made out of bottles called, appropriately, Bottle Bot), the multi-coloured stained glass windows, and all sorts of unusual knick-knacks. The room was practically covered head-to-toe in some sort of item leaving the room almost cluttered, but, to Freddie, it always felt like it had a lot of character.

They found Sam sitting at the kitchen table. She was doing the worst possible thing she could do in her current situation, which was also one of her favourite things to do, eating. In this case she was eating a piece of corn on the cob, moaning in pain every time she took a bite. After watching this bizarre spectacle for some time Carly couldn't take it anymore and approached her best female friend.

"Sam, stop that!" She called out.

Sam looked up at her, "What, I'm hungry." She remarked.

"Your tooth just fell out!" Freddie retorted.

Carly nodded. "You can't just eat corn on the cob."

"Aw, what's the big deal?" Sam asked, annoyed. "It's normal for teeth to fall out."

"Yeah, when you're five," Carly said.

"Or, _ninety_," Freddie added and Sam glared at the two of them.

Carly ignored the glare. "How long has it been since you went to the dentist?"

"I don't know…two…twelve years?"

Freddie and Carly felt their jaws drop at that simple statement. "_What_?" Carly exclaimed, wide eyed.

"_Years_?" Freddie asked, shaking his head as if something was in there blocking him from hearing correctly, but Sam nodded.

"You're supposed to go every six months," Carly scolded.

"Yeah, I'll put that on my list of things that'll never happen," Sam said, grinning wickedly before taking another painful bite of corn.

Before any further comment could be made Carly's older brother Spencer came in, Spencer was tall and gangly with long brown hair and brown eyes. He was known for his artistic streak and his fun loving nature. He provided an easy distraction from Sam by asking which shirt he should wear tomorrow, to prison.

The others were shocked until Spencer clarified that he was going to prison to teach art and sculpture work to the prisoners. However Sam drew attention back to herself by commenting on it and Spencer noticing that it was his corn Sam was eating. Carly however yanked the corn out of Sam's hand and managed to convince Sam to finally go to the dentist. Sam agreed but only with the condition that Carly came with her, to which the brunette girl agreed, knowing she'd be needed in case any incidents happened. The next morning, the girls had arrived at the dentist's office and were immediately taken into a room by a dental hygienist. Carly had taken a seat in a nearby chair while Sam was seated in a dental chair, and was made to lay back. The hygienist pulled out a pink piece of paper that she placed on Sam's chest and wrapped around her next with a string.

Sam looked up, excited. "What, are we having ribs?"

The hygienist giggled. "No, see, once the dentist starts drilling your teeth –"

Carly jumped to her feet immediately, and rushed over to try and pin Sam down. Sam was a lot stronger than she looked though, and she wildly flailed around. Had the hygienist not come to Carly's aid, Sam most likely would have escaped…or worse, hurt someone. Sam still tried to escape, but with Carly holding her arms and the hygienist holding her legs, it was just useless flailing until she eventually tired herself out.

Tired, Sam grumpily sat in her chair like a five year old. "_What_is going on in here?" a voice asked from the doorway, and the group turned to see a tall man in a lab coat standing there, tapping his foot. "I could hear you from down the hall."

"Oh, uh, hello, Dr. Wheeler," Carly said awkwardly, giving Sam a warning look before letting go. "This is my friend Sam…She's a little nervous."

"Way nervous," Sam corrected.

"She hasn't been to a dentist since…she's never been to a dentist."

Dr. Wheeler looked put out at that, but managed to say soothingly, "Sam, there's nothing to be nervous about. I've been doing this for years and I know I'm doing. You won't even feel a thing."

Sam glared at him. "I better not," she growled threateningly.

Dr. Wheeler gulped and nodded before turning to Carly. "Why don't you go sit in the waiting room, and I'll go get Sam's teeth all fixed up?"

"Okay."

However, no sooner had she walked down the hall did she hear the hygienist shriek and a series of loud crashes. Carly rushed back into the room, and saw Sam trying to stab the hygienist with a large needle while the dentist lay motionless on the ground. Carly screamed and grabbed, pulling her off as best as she could. She managed it eventually though, and scolded Sam for acting up again.

Some time later Dr. Wheeler came out and told a nervous Carly they were done. Relieved Carly entered the room and saw the dentist's handiwork.

"Wow, her teeth look great."

"I replaced the missing tooth, and filled her three other cavities."

She smiled and patted her friend's shoulder. "You hear that, Sam?

Sam half snorted. "You blurry…" she slurred, giggling. "Pretty blurry girl…"

Carly raised an eyebrow and turned to the dentist. "Why is she so giggly?"

"We had to give her some nitrous-oxide to calm her down," the hygienist explained, snickering.

"Nitrous…?"

"Laughing gas," Dr. Wheeler said bluntly. "She'll be loopy for a little while." He turned to his assistant. "Now come, let's go check her x-rays."

The two teeth doctors walked out of the room, and closed the door behind them. Carly grabbed a chair and pulled it up next to Sam. She took a pair of scissors from the loopy girl's hand. Sam smiled at her and laughed about nothing in particular, and Carly couldn't help but joining her. The blonde was completely out of her mind, saying things like 'I've gotta go to the dentist,' and worrying about her thumb being missing since she couldn't see it with her clenched fist.

Carly took all of it in stride, laughing at Sam's antics; even on iCarly, Sam had never acted this silly.

"What's so funny?" Sam asked drunkenly.

"You!" Carly said, grinning from ear-to-ear. "You're acting all loopy from the gas the dentist gave you!"

"Oh…" Sam suddenly grinned madly. "Hey…"

"What?"

"Come here."

"What is it?" Carly asked moving closer.

"I wanna tell you…a _secret_…"

Carly perked up at that; she loved hearing secrets. "Okay!"

"Come here."

"I'm already here! What's the secret?"

"I like fried chicken," Sam said dangerously, and Carly slumped over, disappointed.

"It's not a secret that you like fried chicken.

"I know…I got too scared to tell you my _real_secret…"

"Just tell me!" Carly demanded, getting excited once again.

"Okay, come here…" Sam commanded, grabbing the brunette's hair to force her head closer.

"I've already come here'd!" she complained in slight pain.

"You know that kid _Freddie_?" Sam whispered.

"Yes, I know Freddie."

"We _kissed_," the blonde said bluntly.

Carly's eyes bulged and her jaw dropped. "_What_?"

"Me and Freddie _kissed_," she reiterated, and added kissy sounds to get the point across.

Carly slid her chair back, disbelieving. "You and Freddie kissed?!"

Sam shushed her quickly. "Don't tell Carly," she pleaded out of her mind, but unfortunately for her _she_had told Carly.

After Sam recovered from the gas they headed back home, Carly was lost in thought. Finally they arrived back at Apartment 8-C and found Freddie waiting for them outside.

"Hey, how'd it go?" Freddie asked casually, Sam smiled and pulled the cotton out of her mouth, showing off her newly cleaned and repaired teeth.

"Great."  
"Yeah, great," Carly said tonelessly. "Just _great_."

The two of them stared at her confused, but she ignored them as she opened the door to her apartment. She ignored Spencer's new sculpture: a giant pair of pants with the fly undone. Instead, she sat on one of the chairs in the living room, looking at the pair bitterly.

"Carls?" Sam asked as she and Freddie stepped in, closing the door behind them.

Carly stared at them for a moment, and narrowed on their lips. "Did you two really kiss?"

They stiffened in shock before Sam turned to glare furiously at the tech producer, and he stepped back terrified. "You told her. You. Told. Her."

"N-No! I…I didn't! I swear!"

"Yeah right –"

"You told me, Sam," Carly said, cutting in.

Sam blinked. "I did? When?"

"When you were all hopped up on loopy gas," Carly said, voice hard, and Sam lowered her head in shame. "You know, I tell you guys everything, so it really makes me feel _betrayed_that my two best friends decided to make out and secretly date without telling me!" He voice turned low and hurt. "How could you _not_tell me?"

"Secretly dating?" Sam asked incredulously. "It was just a kiss, nothing more! It wasn't even a make out!"

"And, we promised we would _never_speak of it again," Freddie added.

"How could you two even kiss in the first place?" she asked, confused and hurt.

"It was during that incident when everyone was giving me a hard time about never kissing anyone," Freddie explained with a sigh.

Carly remembered that incident quite clearly; Sam had gone too far and told on a live broadcast that Freddie never kissed anyone before. She had thought it was sweet that he hadn't just gone and kissed a girl, and, admittedly, she felt a bit smug at the idea he was waiting for her. Unfortunately, everyone else teased him mercilessly for it until he missed a week of school and she had to tell off Sam for going too far. This basically led to Sam telling everyone she never kissed before, and with the threat she issued to tease her about it, the teasing just went away. Sam had gone to talk to Freddie after…She had gone to talk to Freddie _alone_.

Carly sighed. "I can't believe this; how could you take advantage of Freddie like that, Sam?"

"It's not like that," Freddie said quickly. "It was kinda my idea." She looked at him shocked. "Look, I was really bummed out about the whole thing, and well…I just wanted to get it over with…"

"Why?" Carly whispered.

"Why what?" he asked.

"Why Sam? Why kiss her? You two…don't even really like each other that much."

There was an awkward pause, finally Carly continued.

"I…I thought it was sweet and unique that you were saving your first kiss for someone more special than your average girlfriend."

Sam shook her head, not understand what the big deal was. "Carls, it's not that important –"

"Don't talk to me, Sam," Carly said bitingly. "_You're_the reason Freddie ended up wasting his first kiss! That kiss belonged to someone a lot more important that the girl who abuses him on a daily basis!"

"Whoa, Carly," Sam said, raising an eyebrow. "Aren't you overreacting a bit? You never had a problem with the way I treated Fred-weird –"

"His name's _Fredward_!" Carly interrupted.

"Whatever," Sam said shrugging. "You never had a problem with how I treated him in the past."

"Well, you shouldn't be hitting your boyfriend!"

"I'm not her boyfriend," Freddie interjected quickly. "We're not dating, and I don't like Sam _that_way. She's a…a frenemy at best, and I'm sorry if you feel I wasted my first kiss but the girl I _wanted_to kiss didn't feel much like kissing me, now did she?"

Carly's mouth suddenly went dry. "No, I guess not, but that doesn't excuse Sam of taking advantage of you."

"Hey, he told you it was his idea!"

"Yeah, but he was hurt and sad; he just wanted a way to get it over with so people would stop making fun of him." Carly snorted meanly. "Of course, you _do_have that bad habit of taking things that don't belong…to…you…"

Suddenly there were footsteps and Carly spun around, the trio froze when they saw a pair of men wearing orange jumpsuits, escaped convicts. One was a tall black man with brown eyes, five o'clock shadow, and a buzzed black haircut. The other was a short white man with brown eyes, five o'clock shadow, and messy balding light brown hair.

"Who are you, what do you want?" Carly asked, panicked.

One of the men pulled a knife, the other a gun. The African-American man turned to his partner, smirking.

"Look what we have here Maurice, trouble."

"Yeah," Maurice replied with a wide smile, "Okay kids, you wanna live, cooperate."

Knowing they had no choice, despite Sam's unwillingness, they did so and before long the goons had them tied to chairs with duct tape before fleeing.

"Ugh, I can't believe this…Why did you help them?" Sam complained for what felt like the tenth time.

"They had a gun to my head." Freddie replied, Carly was still angry at both of them and said nothing at first. That was until Sam turned to Carly.

"Since we're gonna be here for a while, Carls, you wanna explain exactly what the hell is wrong with you?"

Carly glared at her. "He told them where the duct tape was in exchange for our lives Sam. He saved our lives, how could you be so rude to him when he saved our lives? What is wrong with you? First I find out you took advantage of him, and now you're getting mad at him for trying to protect us? I don't even know who you are anymore."

"The kiss was his idea!"

"He was _hurt_, Sam! Of course, he was saying completely irrational and stupid things like that! As his…his…whatever you are to him, you should have told him that it was a bad idea! That he should only kiss a girl _because he likes her_!"

There was silence before finally Sam replied petulantly.

"It was my first kiss too!"

"So, you claim, but I don't even know if I should believe you anymore."

Sam looked insulted. "I wouldn't lie about something like that! I'm not my mom!"

Carly snorted. "No, you just do an amazing impression. I bet you don't even know what you did wrong, do you?"

"I didn't do anything wrong!"

"Get out," Carly said harshly. "Until you can figure out how wrong you were, I don't want to see you."

Sam stared at Carly, startled. "_What_?" she asked, wide eyed.

"Get out. Don't come back until you know what you did wrong." She snorted in disgust at the duct tape. "And, after this little incident I don't really want to associate with _criminals_for a while anyway, and _thieves_ definitely fall into that category!"

"What did I even steal?!"

"That's a bit too long of a list to count, _Samantha_."

The blonde huffed at the use of her proper first name. "Fine, you want it that way, cupcake? I'll gladly get out until _you_get your head screwed back on right, but if you haven't noticed, _I can't leave yet_."

Carly groaned and shook her head; she looked around; that's when she saw the pair of scissors on the counter. She told Freddie to grab them, and he bounced his chair over to them as best as he could. It didn't take him long to reach them, and he picked them up with his teeth. Expertly, he let them drop into hands, and he began to cut his way out of the tape. He then cut Carly and Sam free, and the two glared at each other.

"There," Carly said bitingly, "you're free so you can get out now."

"Gladly! Call me when you're sane!" Sam yelled, slamming the door behind her.

"Carls…" Freddie said hesitantly and she turned to glare at him. He gulped and took a step back, but she seemed to realize what she was doing and her eyes softened. "Carls…don't you think you overreacted a bit? I mean I know you feel _betrayed_that we kept it a secret, but…"

Carly shook her head. "It wasn't that you kept it a secret, it's more the fact that she took advantage of you while you were hurt and alone."

Freddie sighed. "It was just a kiss…but, yeah, I guess you're kinda right. But still…"  
"Don't bother Freddie, I don't wanna hear it."  
With that she turned away, getting lost in thought.

Carly was startled out of her thoughts when the door slammed open, and she screamed, throwing a frying pan at it out of reflex. Luckily, her aim was off so she ended up just missing Spencer, but he definitely looked scared.

"What is going on?" Spencer asked, frightened, and Carly quickly explained what happened. "Oh man! It's all my fault! They must of snuck into the sculpture we made…I knew that thing was too heavy!"

Carly frowned. "Well, there's nothing we can do now. They know where we live and if we call the cops they'll be back…"

"Well, I doubt the police don't already know," Spencer said reasonably for once. "Two escaped convicts won't exactly go unnoticed…"

"That's true," Freddie agreed and a silence fell.

"So…how did Sam's appointment go?" Spencer finally asked.

Carly huffed and stomped upstairs. "I'm going to take a shower!"

"Was it something I said?" Spencer asked incredulously.

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End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.


	2. iNeed a Date

**iFeel a Change**

Next chapter of my iCarly story, enjoy.

**Reviews**

**Boris Yeltsin: Thanks, glad you enjoyed it, here's the next chapter :)**

Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: iCarly belongs to Dan Schneider.

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**iNeed a Date**

Freddie sighed as he leaned against his locker. It was that time, the time of the Girl's Choice Dance. He had received invites from several girls but he always, as politely as possible, rejected them. He was holding out, hoping, praying even, that Carly would ask him. Deep down however he knew that wasn't going to happen. Especially now as he watched Carly talking to a boy that usually got her weak-kneed. He turned away dejectedly and had to supress a groan; standing in front of him was a rather hopeful looking girl.

"Hey Freddie, so…I was wondering if you wanted to go to the dance with me?"

He was confused; usually the girls in school either didn't notice him or were turned off by him. He guessed it must've had something to do with growing up, he recalled that girls had indeed started taking more of an interest in him ever since his voice broke. He felt guilty for doing it but he said the well-rehearsed words by now.

"Sorry, I can't, I'm already going with someone."

His guilt increased as her face fell and she left, He sighed and turned his attention back to Carly. He was surprised to see Carly walking towards him and her locker. She looked upset.

"Hey Carls," He greeted her, trying to sound cheerful, "So, how did it go?"

Carly knew what he was referring to and shook her head, "I won't be taking him to the dance…He said he already got someone but I know it's because I accidentally spat in his eye."

"That's rough." Freddie replied sympathetically.

Carly sighed, however at that moment Sam walked past and Carly's face went blank, Sam didn't even look at her.

Carly turned away, not saying anything. Freddie fought to supress a groan. It had been a long time, several weeks in fact, since the incident with Carly finding out about the kiss. In all that time she and Sam had made no effort to reconcile, Freddie was forced to act as a go-between most times, especially due to iCarly needing both of the girls.

"Carls…"  
Carly shook her head, glaring, "No Freddie."

"C'mon, what about iCarly, think of the fans, we can't do it without Sam."

As always, when he explained it that way Carly caved and agreed with him.

"Alright, okay, I'm willing to be civil at least, especially when on camera." Freddie nodded and she added, "But you tell Sam, okay."

He sighed; once again here he was playing ambassador between them. He agreed anyway and headed off to find Sam. He was still hopeful, but knew it was extremely unlikely that Carly would ask him to the dance, even if he did this favour for her. He wasn't able to find Sam but luckily he knew he had his next class with her. So when he arrived he saw her and headed over to her table. Sam looked up as he approached.

"Hey." He greeted, she raised a hand in greeting lazily. "Sam, I need to talk to you."

"What's up?" She asked, Freddie sighed and then spoke.

"It's iCarly tonight, Carly's willing to be civil, just please we need you to come."

Sam rolled her eyes and muttered, "If she was willing to be civil she'd ask me herself." Freddie gave her a pleading look and she relented.

"Okay, I'll show up, don't worry."

Freddie nodded gratefully before sighing; Sam looked confused so he clarified.

"Carly doesn't have a date for the dance, neither do I." He paused before adding, "Or you for that matter."

Sam simply shrugged, apparently uninterested.

The rest of the school day carried on as normal, Sam promised to be around for iCarly on time before heading home. She was however deep in thought.

'_So, Carly doesn't have a date for the dance…Neither do I or Freddie, but that's not important at the moment.'_

Sam pondered for a really long time as she got home and got herself ready. She wanted to help Carly find a date, maybe get back in her good books. Finally, as she left her home and headed to Carly's an idea occurred to her.

'_Perfect, that's sure to work…'_ She thought happily, then a new thought occurred to her. _'Even better, some slight changes to the plan I've got and that'll work perfectly.'_

With that she smiled wider and continued to Carly's apartment. Meanwhile, immediately after school, Carly and Freddie headed to the Shay apartment. They arrived and sat down on the sofa, waiting for Sam. As they sat Carly smiled to herself.

'_This is actually quite nice.'_ She thought to herself.

She was surprised at how comfortable she felt being alone with Freddie, ever since the kiss incident she had spent more time alone with him. The more time she spent the more comfortable she felt. She also began to notice things, such as how his voice had got deeper, the fact he was now taller than her, the fact he had developed some muscle. He was so different from the way he was when she first met him. Gone was the geeky skinny boy she had met in sixth grade, he was now definitely a man. She was broken out of her musing by Sam's arrival. Carly stood up and gave a strained smile.

"Okay, we're all here now, let's get to work."

Sam nodded and they all headed upstairs to begin the show.

The show went very well, however Sam was slightly distracted. She was waiting for her moment, her best chance to put her plan into motion. She soon got it, right at the end. Having built everything up to the grand finale, even making an announcement at the start, Carly picked up and envelope from the small table.

"Okay," She announced, "as I said, to finish this show off I'll be doing a dare request by a fan. The dare has been chosen completely at random, so let's see what I get."

With that she opened the envelope and read the piece of paper inside. She smiled and stepped off camera for a moment before returning with a medium sized tub of ice cream and a spoon.

"Okay, at the request of a dare from a fan, I am going to eat this entire tub of ice cream in one go." She declared, smiling, "Wish me luck."  
She then began; Sam saw her chance and waited patiently, offering Carly encouragement. Finally Carly finished, swallowed the last mouthful and smiled.

"Ta-da!" Her celebration was cut short however as brain freeze kicked in and she fell to the ground.

Freddie put the camera down, still running and hurried over to help Carly. Sam took her chance and walked over to the camera; she then picked it up and addressed the camera directly.

"Listen up iCarly fans, if you're a guy who's not a loser and you live the Seattle area and you'd like to go to a dance with Carly…Send us an e-mail at ."

She made a small addition at the end and finally switched the camera off.

Freddie helped Carly to her feet as she recovered. Carly glared at Sam.

"You…You!" She growled, Sam shook her head. "I can't believe you did that."

"Look, Carls…"  
Carly stalked over and slapped Sam across the face.

"How dare you, and don't 'look, Carls' me." She snapped, "Do you realize what you've just done."

"Hey relax; you might get a really cute guy." Sam remarked, rubbing her cheek, Carly glared.

"Or a psychopath with a chainsaw."

Freddie checked the site's e-mails and gasped.

"Hey, there's already over two hundred e-mails for this dance date thing…and that's just for Carly alone?"

Carly gaped.

"Two hundred!?"

Sam shook her head and decided it was time to reveal the whole story.

"Look, would it make you feel better if I told you I volunteered Freddie and me for it too"

Carly groaned as Freddie looked up in shock.

"What?"

"C'mon guys, look, none of us have dates for the dance." Sam explained, "We might as well all be in this together…We can easily work through the high number of e-mails, just hold a speed dating session."

Freddie sighed and Carly shook her head.

"Alright, but I'm holding you responsible if anything goes wrong."

"Fair enough." Sam replied.

So, as they got to work organizing the speed date session, Sam's plan had worked and was now in motion.

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End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.


	3. iDon't Have Fun

**iFeel a Change**

Chapter 3 of my iCarly story; enjoy.

**Reviews**

**Boris Yeltsin: Thanks, glad you enjoyed it :)  
Wolfgirl77769: Thanks.**

Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: iCarly belongs to Dan Schneider.

* * *

**iDon't Have Fun**

Carly was shocked and annoyed in equal measure. She couldn't believe what she was seeing as she stood in the Groovy Smoothie with Sam and Freddie. She couldn't believe this many guys had shown up. Granted half of them were here for Sam but still, the vast number of them was really surprising. Sam was standing next to her, also looking surprised.

"Whoa, this is a much bigger turn out than I thought." Sam stated, "Who knew there would be this many guys wanting to take us to the dance."

"Yeah, great." Carly replied, deadpan. She glared over at the large number of girls who had come to try and ask Freddie to the dance. "Let's just get this over with."

Sam followed her gaze and saw Freddie too. "Yeah, that was the most surprising part about this." Sam remarked in her usual teasing manner.

Carly shook her head and muttered, "Not really that surprising."

"Carls?"

"Nothing Sam, let's go, here goes nothing." She replied quickly.

Sam nodded and soon the trio sat down and began their speed date session. It was hard going, an hour had passed and they had barely made a dent in the crowd. Finally T-Bo, annoyed at the massive crowd in his shop, decided to help. He put up a sign declaring that only people who bought something to eat or drink from his menu could stay for the speed dating. That did the trick as a large number of people left. Of those that remained, many were already clutching smoothies and various foods. Those that weren't pulled out their wallets and purses and started to buy, now that they could reach the counter to do so.

In the end they finally had their dates. However Carly wasn't happy, of all the boys there for her, the best of the remaining ones was far from ideal. He was a total slob named Mike; he was a mess, his hair was greasy and his clothes looked slept in. The problem was, he was the last one left and none of the others had appealed. She looked around and found herself annoyed at the fact Sam's date was at least good looking, then to rub salt in her wounds Freddie had ended up with a drop dead gorgeous girl. This had been set up for her yet she had ended up with the worst result of all three of them. Sam came over, bringing her date with her.

'_At least she looks apologetic.'_ Carly thought, although she still hadn't forgiven Sam, not for this and not for the kiss incident.

"Well, guess we're all ready then." Sam said nervously, Carly nodded, somewhat sullen as Freddie came over with his date.

He smiled apologetically at Carly, "Hey guys, so you managed to find dates too. This is Angela."

Angela smiled brightly. "Hi."

They returned their greetings; Sam also introduced her date Frank. Mike turned to Carly.

"So, the dance is tomorrow." He stated, Carly was somewhat distracted, glaring at Freddie and Angela.

'_How did this turn out to be such a good thing for him and a complete disaster for me.'_ She thought; _'I'm not religious or anything but...clearly I've upset some god or something.'_

She was shaken out of her thoughts by Mike calling her name; luckily she had indeed heard his question.

"Yeah, that's right." She stated.

Mike smiled wider, showing his disgusting teeth which made her want to throw up. "Cool, I'll pick you up around seven then."

She agreed, just praying that the night wouldn't be a total disaster.

The following night Carly had extreme reservations about going to this dance. She stood in the mirror clad in a dark blue dress; she had put on some make up then taken it off. She had put on her favourite necklace before taking it off. She just didn't feel like making an effort; especially where Mike was concerned. Finally she pulled on her shows and headed downstairs. Spencer noticed her expression and rather bland appearance.

"You sure about this kiddo?" He asked; Carly nodded.

There was a knock at the door, it was Freddie and Angela, both dressed up nice. Freddie smiled.

"You look nice Carly." He said with a smile.

She frowned, "No I don't."

Freddie sighed and shook his head; Angela just smiled at her; then Mike arrived. Carly suppressed a shudder and then all four of them left; heading for the Groovy Smoothie where the dance would be taking place. When they arrived the dance had already started. Angela's eyes lit up as they walked in and she smiled widely.

"C'mon Freddie." She said breathlessly; "Let's go dance."

Freddie agreed and they headed off into the crowd; Carly sighed and fought back an impotent stab of jealousy she felt. She reluctantly let Mike take her hand and they sat down at one of the tables, Sam and Frank joined them.

"So..." Sam started uncertainly; Carly managed to smile, a proper smile as she looked around.

"Wow, this place is packed." She said, somewhat cheerfully. Sam and Frank smiled and nodded.

Mike however didn't look happy at the fact Carly seemed to be looking anywhere but at him. Just then however Frank spoke up.

"It's amazing; if you think about it. A lot of these people, we've known for years...But, they've all changed so much...so grown up."

Carly nodded still smiling, although she felt sadness now.

She thought quietly to herself as she reflected on her situation; _'Growing up has only complicated things for me. I used to know how things were between me and Sam and Freddie; Sam and I were so close, such good friends. Freddie would always playfully flirt with me, I'd tease him...Now all of that's changed, and I don't like it.'_

She was jolted out of her thoughts when she realized Sam and Frank had gone to dance, leaving her alone with Mike.

Needless to say the time that follow felt like the longest amount of time Carly had sat; stringently ignoring Mike. She looked around and froze when she saw something that caught her attention; Gibby was here and with him was the new girlfriend he had been talking about; Tasha.

'_No way, she really does exist?'_ She thought incredulously.

Tasha was amazingly beautiful; she was curvy, well developed with long wavy brown hair and brown eyes. Carly couldn't help but wonder how Tasha and Gibby had ended up together. She noticed something however that bothered her. It was subtle, so she didn't think Gibby spotted it; but being a girl Carly knew the signs when she saw them; Tasha appeared to be flirting with some of the other guys nearby. Before she could ponder further Mike's annoying voice broke in on her train of thought.

"Carly."

She sighed and turned to face him. "What?"

He raised an eyebrow at her and then replied. "You haven't spoken to me all night; you act like you don't even want to be here and..."

Finally she couldn't take it anymore; she snapped.

"I'm not acting; I don't want to be here! I just can't believe how cheap some guys are!" She shook her head. "I mean really, the ones at the speed date that were there to ask me out; all the best ones left because they just had to buy one lousy thing from T-Bo. How could you possibly think I'd like you; I know there's more to a person than their appearance; but your actions have convinced me, you're just as nasty inside as out!"

She shuddered as she remembered their conversation coming to the dance. All Mark could talk about was how much money his family made, his own inflated opinion of himself and worse than all that; his eyes kept wandering up and down her body; focusing mostly on her bare legs.

"You know what, fine, forget it; I don't have to listen to this." He said finally, glaring at her. "I'm outta here!"

With that he stood up and left; leaving Carly alone. Carly sighed heavily and looked around; she couldn't Sam and Frank anywhere. Then she saw Freddie and Angela and her jealousy spiked; they were kissing, not just a simple kiss either, a proper one. Carly had clearly only saw the middle of it, not the beginning or the end. She fumed and then went to leave; she couldn't stand it here anymore. As she was leaving however she saw something that made her stop; it was the two crooks who had tied her and Sam and Freddie up before fleeing just a month ago. They were raiding the jar for the ticket money; just then one of them looked up and glared at her.

"Maurice; recognize her." He snapped.

Maurice sighed. "What are you talkn' about Johnny." He looked up and saw Carly. "That's the girl from..."

Carly immediately realized she was in trouble and tried to run; she heard them pursue her.

Suddenly someone grabbed her arm and pulled her into the storage closet; she would've screamed if her mouth hadn't been covered. She heard the thugs run by and then she was released; she spun around to face the person who had grabbed her.

"Sam?"

Sam smiled; "Hey, you're welcome."

Carly was at a loss for words but then she noticed that Sam looked very pale, dark shadows under her eyes.

"Sam, are you okay?" Sam looked at her confused and she clarified; "You look sick."

Sam's eyes widened in realization; "Oh, that...I um; my mom's got a new boyfriend and, she didn't tell him about me. She's been eating at his place all the time and I...I haven't had a proper meal in a while."

Carly swallowed, whatever anger she felt at Sam was suddenly eclipsed by her guilt. When she had thrown Sam out of the apartment that day; she had condemned her to this. Well; it was time she fixed her mistake.

"Sam; I've still not forgiven you for that incident." Sam nodded; hardly surprised. "But I have a conscience, I'm not gonna let you suffer like this. So, you can come back to the apartment okay."

Sam nodded. "Okay Carls, I get it; thank you."

With that they both left the storage closet; the crooks were gone thankfully. They breathed a sigh of relief Freddie was still with Angela. Frank had gone home early; Sam explained that he had made improper advances towards her and she forced him to back off. Both girls left the dance and headed back to the apartment; both thinking the same thing;

'_That could've gone better.'_

* * *

End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.


	4. iCan't Believe It

**iFeel a Change**

Next chapter of my iCarly story, enjoy.

**Reviews**

**Boris Yeltsin: Glad you are enjoying it, thanks :)  
Wolfgirl77769: Thanks, I know, she just doesn't have any luck.**

Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: iCarly belongs to Dan Schneider.

* * *

**iCan't Believe It**

Carly Shay fumed as she walked home. It was a little later than usual but she had been waiting for Sam and Freddie. However her waiting got her nothing as she found out Sam had landed herself in detention yet again and Freddie had already left with his new girlfriend, Angela; the girl he had taken to the dance. She sighed; things had changed so much, she couldn't believe it; she had never felt so alone. It hurt, things still hadn't been properly patched up with Sam and with Freddie with his girlfriend now he was hardly around anymore. Worse still Angela seemed to have taken an instant dislike to her; Carly couldn't understand it, she hadn't done anything to her. As she walked however she heard something, it sounded like voices, disturbingly familiar voices.

"I can't believe this." One of them complained.

The other sighed before replied, "You're right, all that effort for nothing."

She knew it, it was them, the two escaped convicts, Johnny and Maurice; she quickly took cover behind a dumpster in a nearby alleyway, just in time as the crooks stopped in front of it. To her shock and horror she could hear a baby crying, when she dared to look out Maurice had a blanket wrapped bundle in his arms.

"He said this wasn't the girl he was after." Johnny stated, "We could ransom her off."

Maurice growled. "Forget it; I can't stand this brat's screaming."

Johnny sighed and shrugged. "Fine, just leave her here, let's go."

To Carly's horror they did just that; she waited briefly to make sure they had gone before she stepped out of her hiding place.

She heard the thunder and realized a storm was brewing, the baby wailed in terror and Carly felt her heart go out to the helpless baby. She walked over and gently picked the baby up, seeing it was a girl. The little girl was an average size for a baby around six months or so old; she had a small tuft of brown hair on her head. She stared at Carly with wide brown eyes; confusion crossing her face. There was no fear however, as if the little girl somehow sensed that Carly wanted to help her. She cradled the baby in one arm and pulled out her cell phone and dialled 911. Following instructions she remained where she was and waited, before long the police arrived. They approached her and she began telling them what she saw. Finally, once she finished she paused before adding.

"What should I do...I mean...?" She floundered but the officer seemed to guess what she wanted to say.

"I believe it would be best if you were to look after her until we found her parents." He stated, "The problem is of course, there are many kidnapping cases in Seattle, it might take a while."

Carly nodded and then shifted the blanket slightly so they could see the baby's shirt. "I think her name is Rachel." She said, the shirt did indeed have the word Rachel on it.

The officer smiled, it was highly unlikely that the baby had a change of clothes since the kidnapping; therefore Rachel was indeed her most likely name. Finally Carly headed home with Rachel while the officers got to work.

Carly arrived home with Rachel, only to find out Spencer had gone to visit Socko and wouldn't be back till tomorrow. Luckily she was able to find her old crib from when she had been a baby. After getting Rachel settled in for the night Carly went to sleep. Rachel had woken up three times during the night, crying because she was scared. Carly did her best to comfort her and now today; so Rachel wouldn't have to feel uncomfortable anymore Carly planned to spend most of the day with her and take her baby shopping. They soon arrived at the shops and Carly smiled.

"Here we are Rachel." She said happily.

The little girl looked around, confused and somewhat amazed by her surroundings. After they had finished shopping Rachel smiled a lot more at Carly and was beginning to get used to her. They stopped at the counter and paid for the shopping. The woman looked at Carly slightly confused before noticing and quickly apologized.

"I'm sorry miss, it's just. The little doesn't look much like you and I..."

Carly smiled. "It's alright, she's not my daughter, it's kind of a long story but I'm looking after her while the police try to track down her parents."

The woman nodded and they finished the transaction. Carly then took Rachel home. Both were smiling now and carrying the bags in one hand and cradling Rachel with her other arm Carly was able to get into the apartment and found Spencer, Sam and Freddie waiting for her.

They all looked at her in shock and surprise. Carly sighed as she realized she hadn't informed any of them about Rachel yet.

"Carls?" Spencer said questioningly.

Carly explained the whole story to them and by the time she was done even Sam looked disgusted at the behaviour of the two crooks.

"So..." Freddie began, "You're gonna be looking after her until then."

She nodded; Sam thought for a moment and then asked. "Do you know how the police are progressing with their search?"

"Not yet, no." She replied.

Spencer smiled. "Well kiddo, you did a good job with all of this I must say. But now you don't have to do it alone, we'll back you up, right guys."

Freddie nodded with a smile. "Of course."

Sam bit her lip but nodded too, finally admitting, "I'll do what I can, but don't expect a miracle."

Carly laughed but then noticed something.

"Sam, what's that on your leg?"

"Something I got from my last stint in juvie." She admitted before pulling up her pant leg to reveal an electronic ankle bracelet.

Carly rolled her eyes.

"You never learn." She said with a laugh.

The others laughed too, Rachel, who had been watching them all, confused, the whole time finally smiled and managed to shyly wave at the group who smiled back at her. Carly breathed a sigh of relief, she knew what she had to do was tough, but she knew she could do it. It didn't matter how long it took the police to find Rachel's parents, she would take care of the baby girl until they did.

* * *

End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.


	5. iWill Raise Her

**iFeel a Change**

Next chapter of my iCarly story, enjoy :)

**Reviews**

**Boris Yeltsin: Thanks, glad you enjoyed it :)  
Nkcandygirl: Thanks :)**

Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: iCarly belongs to Dan Schneider.

* * *

**iWill Raise Her**

Carly sighed as she woke up. She was exhausted, not that she was complaining. It had been two weeks and still the police were no closer to finding Rachel's parents. Carly had cared for her all this time, with help from the others but it was in Carly's room that Rachel slept. Therefore, whenever Rachel woke up crying, either because she was hungry, needed a diaper change or was just scared of a nightmare, Carly was the first to wake up and comfort her and do what needed to be done. It was now officially time to wake up any way; she crossed over to the crib and lifted Rachel up. The little girl didn't stir but continued to sleep peacefully. Her soft breathing being the only sound she currently made. Smiling, Carly headed downstairs; carrying Rachel with her. Sam was already downstairs, watching TV, she turned and saw Carly and Rachel and smiled.

"Hey." She greeted gently, careful not to wake Rachel up.

Carly smiled and nodded. "Where's Spencer?"

Sam shrugged. "Said he had to go out, why?"

Carly sighed.

"I was gonna ask him to watch Rach while I went out to shop for more baby stuff for her."

Sam stood up from the sofa. She walked over and smiled at Rachel who was waking up. The little girl yawned and opened her eyes, blinking a few times. She smiled at Sam and Carly both, grasping Carly's shirt.

"I could watch her for you." Sam offered; Carly's eyes widened and she shook her head.

"Sam I'm not leaving her alone with you."

"What, Carls...?"

Carly then tried to explain. "Look, it's just...you're not exactly the most trustworthy person to be around a baby, alone."

Sam sighed and nodded. "I get it, maybe you're right."

There was an awkward pause before Sam began to walk towards the door.

"Sam?" Carly called out; worried she had been too harsh.

Sam however was smiling when she looked back. "I'll be back, just going for a walk, might go grab something to eat."

Carly laughed and nodded. "Just make sure..."

"I know, I know." Sam replied. "Stay within the zone I've been ordered to stay in."

Sam glanced down at her electronic bracelet with slight distaste but then brightened up again and left the apartment. She remained happy until she finally left the building and was walking down the street. Then she exhaled heavily, feeling a little sad.

'_She doesn't trust me anymore, not like she used to.'_ Sam thought sadly.

She shook her head and, deciding some food would cheer her up began to walk to the nearest place she could get food, not really paying attention to where she was going. Therefore she didn't see the young man before she walked into him. They both fell to the ground, landing on their butts.

"Ouch." Sam exclaimed before pulling herself up, talking as she did so. "Sorry about that."

"No, _desole_, ma faul'." The young man replied in a heavy Cajun accent.

Sam finally got a good look at him. The young man was around her age, rather tall, about half an inch shorter than Freddie. He had short casually messy brown hair and brown eyes, his skin was tanned and he had a rather well toned build.

He smiled at her; it was a sweet smile, open, friendly.

"So..." She began, somewhat awkward. "You sure you're okay?"

He nodded and replied. "Ah'm fine, really. 'ow 'bout you?"

Sam nodded, indicating she was okay.

"Dat's good." He replied. His gaze dropped downwards and fell on her ankle bracelet, his eyes widened. "Uhh?"  
Sam shook her head.

"It's nothing." She told him, "I just have a bit of a bad past, nothing major."

The boy nodded and then seemed to realize something. "Wait, ain't you Sam from iCarly?"

Sam smiled. "Yup, the one and only." She replied.

The boy smiled wider and introduced himself. "Ah'm Bobby Duke, ah'm a huge fan."

Sam nodded and listened as Bobby explained a bit more; she noticed, much to her surprise that Bobby had been a dedicated fan from the very first episode. Unless something major stopped him, he never missed a chance to watch the web show. Just then however he stopped and looked at her, a confused expression on his face.

"So...Wha' brings ya out here?" He asked. Sam gulped nervously and then sighed.

She meant to tell him only a little but in the end she told him everything, about her troubles with Carly recently and how she was worried about it. To her surprise he hugged her, comforting her.

"It'll be a'right." He told her.

Sam relaxed slightly. "I hope you're right." She replied.

Bobby let her go and they continued to talk as they went to get something to eat.

Meanwhile, Carly returned from shopping to see Freddie standing in the middle of the room, looking distressed. She saw Rachel in his arms, wriggling around, fussing.

"Freddie?"

Freddie looked up and relief flooded his face. "Carls, thank god, I don't get it." Carly looked at him confused so he explained. "She won't let me hold her, she just keeps squirming."

Carly smiled and walked over, picking Rachel up, almost immediately the girl calmed down and relaxed in Carly's arms.

"She's just not used to you, that's all." Carly reassured him.

Freddie nodded, he then had to answer his phone, it was his girlfriend. Carly glared briefly before smiling again and going to change Rachel. Finally she finished, just as Sam entered with a young man she had never seen before.

"Uh...Sam?" She began, Sam smiled.

"It's alright Carls; this is Bobby Duke; he's a huge iCarly fan." She explained. "He just moved here from Louisiana."

Carly nodded, finally understanding. Bobby looked at Rachel surprised and Carly explained the whole story. As she was explaining Freddie's mother, Marissa, also came over and heard what she had to say. They were both shocked at what had happened and surprised at Carly's generosity.

"Dat's mighty kind of ya." Bobby stated when she explained about how she was looking after Rachel until her parents were found.

Marissa agreed and also offered her expertise as a nurse to help, in case anything happened. While wary Carly agreed, relived that she would have so much help; especially since Rachel was a handful at times; not that she minded, she just hoped her real parents were found soon, for her sake.

* * *

End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.


	6. iFind Gibby a Girlfriend

**iFeel a Change**

Chapter 6 of my iCary story, enjoy.

**Reviews**

**Boris Yeltsin: Thanks, glad you enjoyed it, thanks I tried my best.  
Jeremy Shane: Hey, thanks, glad you enjoyed it, here you go :)**

Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: iCarly belongs to Dan Schneider.

* * *

**iFind Gibby a Girlfriend**

Freddie sighed; it had been three days since they had met Bobby Duke. Rachel was still part of their lives. Freddie didn't mind, she was used to him now and let him hold her without squirming. However there were some problems now, mainly his girlfriend, Angela, wasn't happy about the amount of time he was spending at Carly's looking after Rachel. So he had offered to bring her along this time, Angela looked at him as if he was insane.

"Are you out of your mind Freddie?" She asked incredulous. "No way am I going over there."

Freddie shook his head and sighed. "C'mon Angie, it'll be fun." He told her, but she glared at him.

"Oh come on, you want me to come with you to _that girl's_ apartment." She snapped. "You spend way too much time there, time you should be spending with me."

Freddie groaned; Carly and Angela seemed to have an unnerving aversion to each other; he constantly seemed to be caught in the middle. "Give me a break." He said.

However she wasn't finished, she suddenly burst out. "Can't you see she doesn't want us together?"

Freddie had had enough so his only response was to claim she was overreacting. She shook her head before replying.

"Besides, I don't like babies, they're too messy."

Freddie couldn't take it anymore. "Ugh, fine." He said before stalking off, heading to apartment 8C to see Rachel. When he arrived Carly was busy changing Rachel and looked up as he came in.

"Hey Freddie. "She greeted; smiling. He smiled back but then she frowned. "Wasn't Angela with you?

Freddie sighed and then explained his girlfriend's excuses for not coming. Carly rolled her eyes and muttered to herself, but said nothing else and passed Rachel over to him, she smiled and he gently rocked her, glad she was comfortable with him now.

The following day however things were complicated for them.

"Ugh." Carly groaned. "Why did Spencer and your mom both have to work today?" She asked Freddie.

Freddie shrugged; with both of them at work and no time to get a babysitter; it looked like Carly would have to take Rachel to school with her. They called up the school and verified it would be okay so they met up with Sam and told her. They soon arrived at school. The school nursery was free so Carly was allowed to leave Rachel there; although she would have to check on her after every class. She made sure Rachel was asleep and set her down in one of the cribs before heading to her locker. She met up with Sam and Freddie and they began to walk to their first class. Just then Carly noticed something.

"Hey, isn't that Bobby?" She asked, pointing him out.

The others looked and saw that she was right, it was Bobby Duke. He saw them and walked over, smiling happily. They smiled back, although Carly noticed Sam's smile seemed a little shy.

"Sam?" Her friend turned to face her, "You okay, you're acting kinda...weird?"

Sam shrugged. "It's nothing." She said.

Bobby joined them and explained how he had recently enrolled at school. They discovered that they would be sharing classes too. Just then Freddie pointed out the time and, although Sam didn't care as usual, they hurried to class. Sam only went because it was part of her bail conditions, the electronic bracelet would let the cops know she ditched class and would raise suspicion of her whereabouts.

Around lunchtime however Carly received a text from Gibby, he needed to talk to them urgently.

"Uh, what are we gonna do guys? I can't leave Rachel, but Gibby sounds like he really needs our help." She told the others.

There was much debating until finally, despite Carly's misgivings, they left Rachel in Miss Briggs care and went to see Gibby. They found Gibby sitting alone; he looked depressed as they sat down.

"Gibby, what's wrong?" Carly asked.

Gibby sighed and then, after a few false starts, revealed his problem. "It...It's Tasha, she's cheating on me."

They froze as he said that. Carly was sickeningly reminded of the time she saw Tasha at the dance, flirting with other guys.

"I caught her with the guy, confronted her about it." Gibby continued. "But she denies it, even said I was imagining it."

They were stunned, shocked silence followed before Gibby buried his face in his hands and sighed.

"I'm such an idiot; I should've known."

Sam was the first to speak. "You know what Gib; I think you should dump the cheating slut and get someone better."

Gibby nodded slowly before asking, "Like who?"

They had no answer, that was, until Carly came up with an idea.

"Hey, I know, you need someone who has experience with this sorta thing, ask Spencer for help."

Gibby brightened up at that and agreed. After he left they returned and were surprised to find Rachel okay, Miss Briggs turned out to be very skilled with babies. The school day ended and they all headed home, relieved that everything had worked out okay. They just hoped Gibby would be able to get someone, after what he had told them.

Some days later, Gibby sat at Apartment 8C, nervous as a cat on a hot roof. He had spoken to Spencer and they had decided to set up an online dating profile for Gibby. They had received a surprising number of responses but most put Gibby off. They had found one that was promising, they had communicated and now the date was set. Gibby had dressed his best and was waiting for his date to arrive. Spencer smiled encouragingly and then the doorbell went, Gibby jumped up, this was it. Spencer smiled and they answered the door. Both their jaws dropped when they saw Gibby's date. The last person they expected to be here however was the teenage prize fighter, Shelby Marx. Shelby smiled and looked at both of them before asking.

"Shirtless101?" Gibby cleared his throat and answered.

"That's me." He said, his voice still came out squeaky but she didn't seem to notice.

After some brief introduction with their proper names they left the apartment and headed out. Spencer smiled as he closed the door.

'_Man, didn't see that coming.'_ He thought to himself; _'Hope this goes well for Gibby, especially with Shelby Marx.'_

Spencer decided to keep the information that Shelby was Gibby's date a secret for now, let Gibby reveal it when he was ready.

Gibby shifted nervously in his seat. He was in a rather classy restaurant with Shelby sitting opposite him.

"So, um..." He began, she smiled and then spoke.

"Nervous...? Me too." She admitted. "Most guys are too intimidated; at least you're still conscious."

Gibby managed to laugh at that when the waitress arrived with their food. Shelby frowned at her plate.

"Something wrong?" He asked.

Shelby turned to the waitress. "Excuse me, this isn't what I ordered."

"Sorry." The waitress replied. Gibby frowned; there was something familiar about that voice.

She left and Shelby began talking to Gibby about her fights; she was still undefeated in the ring. As they talked the waitress returned, Shelby looked at her plate and shook her head. The waitress sighed.

"Still wrong?"

Shelby nodded and the waitress took the plate away again. Gibby was still trying to work out how she was familiar. After some more conversation the waitress returned with the right order this time. Shelby took a bite and turned bright red before gulping down some water.

"What is wrong now?" The waitress asked. Shelby glared.

"Who put hot peppers in my food!?" She asked angrily.

Gibby finally realized the truth. "She did, you're trying to ruin my date, aren't you Tasha?"

The girl turned to glare at Gibby.

"You just can't let it go, I wasn't..."

"I saw you, I heard him say you're name, just face it, we're through!" Gibby shot back before storming out of the restaurant.

Gibby groaned as he sat on the bench outside; he couldn't believe he had forgot Tasha worked here. Worse, now Shelby wouldn't want anything to do with him. The date had been a complete disaster. Suddenly he felt someone hug him from behind.

"You're gonna get cold sitting there."

He was shocked. "Sh-Shelby?"

She smiled and sat next to him. "I complained to the manager, she's been made to leave, if we want we can go back and he'll give us our meals for free."

Gibby smiled and agreed, maybe there was a chance to salvage the night after all. He still couldn't believe it; Shelby still wanted the date to continue. It certainly boded well for the future.

* * *

End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.


	7. iReturn Her

**iFeel a Change**

Chapter 7 of my iCarly story, enjoy.

**Reviews**

**Boris Yeltsin: Thanks, glad you are enjoying it.  
Wolfgirl77769: Thanks, glad you enjoyed it. I took it down because I was having trouble with it, I'll try and get it uploaded again at a later date.  
Jeremy Shane: Thanks, here you go :)**

Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: iCarly belongs to Dan Schneider.

* * *

**iReturn Her**

Carly groaned as she woke up.

'_That dream again?'_ She thought groggily.

When Rachel came into her life and when Freddie started to help Carly began to have the same vivid dream. It was always of her and Freddie, they were always married, or dating, and Carly would be holding a baby girl in her arms that resembled Rachel, but also resembled her and Freddie. It shocked her to no end; especially when, more recently, the dream changed so that every time she had it, she was always married to Freddie. She shook her head.

'_Ugh, I don't know if I should be freaked out or take a hint.'_ She thought to herself before remembering. _'Wait no, I can't think like that; he's dating Angela. I...I no longer have a place in his heart.'_

She was then jolted out of her thoughts by Rachel waking up and crying. She hurried over and soon found the problem, a wet diaper.

Carly smiled as she moved Rachel to the changing mat. "Shhh, it's okay." She said soothingly as she began to change her.

Once she was done Rachel smiled at her and waved, giving a small laugh. Carly smiled and picked her up, kissing the little girl's forehead.

"There you go."

With that she headed downstairs, ready for another day.

Meanwhile in the Benson apartment, Freddie sighed as he closed his phone. He had just received another text from Angela; who didn't seem to realize how much he wanted to both be with her and also how much he wanted to help Rachel. As he headed downstairs his mother looked up and saw him, she smiled.

"Morning Freddie." She greeted. He smiled back and returned the greeting. There was a pause before she decided to continue talking. "So...How are things between you and Angela?"

Freddie sighed. "I...I don't know, one minute we're fine, the next...I don't know if I should even continue with this. Maybe I should just break up with her."

Marissa seemed shocked by this and so Freddie explained about Angela's clinginess and her constant aversion to Carly and Rachel and her demands that he stay away from Carly all the time. Finally when he was done Marissa sighed.

"Freddie, just because your relationship is having problems is no reason to break up with the girl." She explained. "All relationships have problems, but they can only work if these problems are confronted and taken care of."

Freddie sighed and nodded. "Yeah, I guess." He then smiled. "Well, I better go and see Rachel."

Marissa nodded; smiling back and Freddie left the apartment and crossed the hall to apartment 8C.

When he entered he found Carly having just finished feeding and burping Rachel.

"Hey." He greeted as he came in.

Carly smiled at him, although she seemed slightly awkward. "Hi."

Rachel smiled and reached out towards Freddie, he smiled and took her, gently rocking her.

Carly gave a small laugh. "Looks like she's finally used to you." She stated happily. Freddie nodded in reply, smiling as Rachel grasped his shirt.

There was a knock at the door, Carly answered it, it was Gibby and Shelby. After their date at the restaurant, they had gone on a more successful date and were now officially a couple, to the surprise of many. Tasha was freaking out over the fact Gibby was dating someone else, but he couldn't care less about whatever rumours she spread. Sam also arrived with them, along with Bobby.

"Hey guys." Carly greeted. "C'mon in."

Once they were all inside they sat down, Shelby smiled.

"I heard you were looking after a baby girl, until the police found her parents." She said, Carly nodded.

"Yeah, her name's Rachel." She replied as Freddie walked over with Rachel.

Shelby smiled at the little girl. "Can I hold her?"

Carly nodded and Freddie handed Rachel over; surprisingly Rachel didn't seem to have any problems with Shelby and immediately snuggled into her arms. The others all smiled, surprised at how good Shelby was with babies.

"She likes you." Carly pointed out; Shelby grinned in response.

Carly smiled happily as she watched the scene before her. It was enough to make her wonder if her dream really was just a dream, or if there was a chance of it coming true. She shook her head however; she couldn't think like that, Freddie had a girlfriend after all.

It was later in the day when there was a knock at the door; Carly answered it and saw it was a police officer.

"Hello?" She greeted warily; wondering off-hand if Sam had breached her bail somehow.

The officer smiled and then asked. "Carly Shay?" When Carly nodded he continued. "I've been sent to inform you, that we've found little Rachel's parents."

Carly gasped in surprise and the officer continued. "Her full name is Rachel Summers. These are her parents John and Annie Summers."

He showed her a photo of a married couple; they were both around average height, the man had short brown hair, brown eyes and a muscular build. The woman had long blonde hair, blue eyes and was slender. Carly looked back at the officer and was about to ask, but he smiled and answered her unspoken question.  
"They're good people; Rachel was taken while they slept, they've been frantic all this time."

Carly smiled and nodded. "That's great; well, when can we expect them to come and get her?"

"Tomorrow."

Carly nodded and once the officer left she returned to the others and told them the good news. Despite it being good news Carly felt a strange feeling in the pit of her stomach. It was sadness she realized, she knew already that she would miss dear little Rachel.

The following day Sam, Bobby, Gibby, Shelby and Spencer were in the apartment. Sam was in the kitchen eating and talking to Bobby. The others were all in the living room; Carly and Freddie were upstairs. They were giving Rachel a bath, making sure she was presentable for her parents. Finally there was a knock at the door, Spencer answered it and saw the couple from the photo, John and Annie Summers. With them was a young girl, about nine years old; she was the average height for a nine year old, skinny with shoulder length blonde hair and brown eyes.

"Is this the Shay residence?" The man asked, Spender nodded and the men breathed a sigh of relief. "I'm John Summers; this is my wife Annie and our elder daughter Paige."

Spencer smiled and greeted them, he then let them in. Once inside Paige spotted Sam and her eyes widened.

"No way, you're Sam from iCarly." She exclaimed.

Sam smiled, and waved, her mouth full of fried chicken. Annie smiled and explained.

"Paige is a great fan of the show." She paused and then asked. "Where is Rachel?"

Spencer told them. "She's upstairs, Freddie and Carly are giving her a bath."

The family nodded and then Carly and Freddie came downstairs.

The moment she saw them Paige gasped.

"Wow, Carly really did save my little sister." She said breathlessly.

John smiled and introduced the family again, Carly smiled and nodded before handed Rachel to Annie.

"I believe this little one belongs to you." She said softly.

Annie smiled before bursting into tears. "Thank you, thank you so much..."

"It...It's nothing really." Carly replied, feeling somewhat awkward."

Just then a new voice joined the group. "Mama."

Everyone stared at Rachel in amazement. Paige wiped away her tears and smiled. "Wow, Rach's first word."

Rachel was holding Annie and Carly's hair, as if unsure as she looked between them. Carly smiled, holding back her tears and gently took her hair out of Rachel's grasp.

"This is your mama." She said, indicating Annie.

Rachel smiled and snuggled into Annie's arms with a delighted "Mama."

Carly felt the awkwardness return. "I...I wasn't trying to replace you, honest."

Annie however smiled. "I know. You did a really good job, that's why she was confused...But even so, you could always be her aunt Carly."

Paige leapt in. "That'd be so cool; we don't live too far away, just the other side of town. You could come visit us any time you want."

Carly smiled again. "I'd like that."

After some more tears and smiles the Summers family; now reunited, left. Carly sighed; it felt good to see them all happy and despite the sadness she felt, she took solace in the fact that this wasn't goodbye. She would see Rachel again, she knew it.

* * *

End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.


	8. iAm Blind

**iFeel a Change**

Next chapter of my iCarly story, enjoy.

**Reviews**

**Boris Yeltsin: Thanks, glad you enjoyed it.  
Wolfgirl77769: Thanks, I'll see when I can get around to it.  
Guest: Thanks glad you enjoyed it :)**

Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: iCarly belongs to Dan Schneider.

* * *

**iAm Blind**

It had been a week since Rachel Summers was returned to her family. Happy as they were to reunite her with her parents, Carly and Freddie were feeling the strain of post-separation stress. For Freddie it was affecting his relationship with his girlfriend Angela. Whenever she saw him moping around she lost her temper. Just like right now where she was going off on a rant about how he didn't really care for her and how he was being selfish.

"Seriously Freddie." She snapped, "It's like you care more about that stupid kid and that girl more than me."

Freddie groaned and shook his head. Lately, whenever there had been problems between him and Angela, she had always found a way to try and blame Carly for it somehow.

"Leave Carly out of this." He replied. "You don't get it; I miss Rachel. I'm happy that she's back with her parents but, I helped look after her when she needed someone to do so. It meant something to me Angela, can't you see that?"

She scrunched up her face and shook her head. "For all I know _Carly_ used that kid as an excuse to take you away from me."  
Freddie rolled his eyes. "Oh for God sake, lay off her. Look, just forget it, we've gotta get to school; let's go."

Angela grudgingly agreed and they headed for school.

Carly had just arrived in school; she had spent a restless night. She kept waiting for Rachel's cries before remembering that she was back with her parents. She sighed, she hadn't been able to find the time, what with her busy schedule, but she promised that she would visit the Summers soon.

'_I'll take Freddie too, he'd like that, Rachel likes him now.'_ She thought wistfully. _'If I can get him away from Angela long enough, geez what is up with that girl.'_

For some reason Angela had become almost unbearably clingy and always glared whenever Carly got within five feet of Freddie. It was making things difficult for all of them and on at least two occasions had almost interfered with iCarly. As she walked to her locker she was greeted by a sight that surprised her. Sam was talking to a gangly young man, the same age as them with short brown hair and blue eyes. She recognized him; it was Sam's old boyfriend, Jonah. But they had split up after Sam found out about him trying to cheat on her with Carly. So why was she talking to him now? She noticed Jonah seemed to be smirking and, going by the look on Sam's face she was flirting with him, that confused her even more. Finally Jonah walked off and Carly hurried over to Sam.

She stopped briefly when she saw something else; it was Bobby, also walking over to Sam. The expression on his face however surprised her; he actually looked...jealous. She had long had suspicions but this almost proved them true; did Bobby actually have a crush on Sam? She also had suspicions that it was the other way around too, but apparently not.

"Sam." She said as Bobby came into earshot. Sam turned and smiled at both of them.

"Hey you guys." She greeted nonchalantly.

Carly sighed and then asked about Jonah. "I mean, seriously Sam; you remember what happened last time."

Sam nodded. "I know, relax, I'm just messing around."

Carly sighed, Bobby seemed to relax slightly but Carly still had a bad feeling about this. She gathered her stuff from her locker and, seeing Freddie with Angela, turned to head to her next class. She did her best to ignore the tight feeling in her stomach and the unshakable feeling that something wrong was about to happen. Surprisingly, nothing bad did seem to happen. Angela still glared at her as usual, Sam only flirted with Jonah one more time before returning to acting slightly shy around Bobby, whenever he smiled at her. Finally it was time for Mr. Henning's class. The knot of worry that she had been dealing with was almost gone now. Plus Angela didn't take the class so she wouldn't have to worry about being glared at all the time.

They were in the class and Mr. Henning was explaining the experiment they were going to do. He warned them that it was dangerous however and they would have to follow instructions exactly; working in groups of two or three. The warning made even Sam pay attention; everyone did, except Jonah. Carly, Freddie and Sam worked together and began the experiment. Carly headed over to the store closet to get what they needed for the next part of the experiment. She passed Jonah's table and noticed briefly that he was adding far too much of the ingredient he was currently adding. As he did so the experiment went wild and Jonah ducked out of the way. The next thing Carly knew she was on the floor, screaming and covering her eyes. She could hear Freddie and Sam's panicked shouts as they grabbed her to stop her flailing and hurting herself further. She could also hear Mr. Henning yelling at Jonah before everything dissolved into a blur of sound. When things finally calmed down she found herself lying in a hospital bed, her eyes bandaged. Freddie and Sam were with her and so was Spencer.

"Ugh." Carly groaned as she shook her head. "I can't believe this."

"It's okay Carls, really, it's okay." Freddie reassured her.

She just nodded.

Finally she turned to Sam. "Sam, why did you...?"

"I know, I know, it's my fault, if I hadn't done what I did with Jonah, he wouldn't have been so full of himself and screwed up like that...I'm sorry, really."

Carly shook her head. "It's alright, what's done is done I guess."

She heard Sam's sigh of relief and settled back into the bed. She had heard the doctor's reports; it was unknown just how long she would be blinded, a week, a month, a year. The only real consolation was the knowledge that at least the damage wasn't permanent.

Bobby, Gibby and Shelby arrived later along with two surprising visitors.

"Carly." A female voice said.

Carly started at this. "Who...?"

"It's me, Annie Summers." The woman replied, Rachel's real mother. Carly smiled.

It turned out Paige was with Annie too and they had come to try and help her. Carly felt immensely grateful for that. The following day she was allowed out of hospital; Freddie had agreed to help her while she learned to find her way about with a cane. This however resulted in a lot of physical contact, causing Carly to notice things about Freddie, she never noticed before. Namely just how muscular he had become; while not over the top like most of the jocks in high school, it was enough to be noticeable.

'_No wonder he has so many girls after him now.' _She thought to herself; remembering Angela.

In the days and weeks that followed Carly received more good news; Jonah had been expelled from school and was likely going to end up in trouble with the police. Even if that didn't come to pass Sam had posted on iCarly about the incident so everybody would know Jonah was the one who had blinded Carly. It took Carly a month to get used to getting around blind, then, a month later she went back to hospital to see the doctor and find out how far her recovery had progressed.

The doctor had taken the bandages off; Carly frowned.

"It...It's an improvement from last time. I can see now, but everything's blurred." She explained.

The doctor nodded. "I thought this might happen. You're eyes are still recovering, but you won't need the bandages anymore. It will be a while before your sight completely recovers and even then there might be some permanent damage. I recommend getting glasses to help until then."

Carly suppressed a groan, fearful at the thought of looking like a dork or nerd with glasses. But she agreed with the doctor and got them. She was surprised the first time she wore them, both to school and on iCarly, at the number of compliments she got. Most people felt she looked more mature with glasses and some even said they looked good on her. As time progressed her sight for better, but in the end she still needed her glasses to read small print and books. Still she felt relieved, it had been a dramatic incident but it had passed and she had come out without any major issues.

'_Definitely better than a lot of things that have happened lately.'_ She thought to herself with a smile.

* * *

End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.


	9. iGet Stuck

**iFeel a Change**

Next chapter of my iCarly story, enjoy.

**Reviews**

**Boris Yeltsin: Thanks, glad you enjoyed it, hopefully this chapter is just as good :)  
Wolfgirl77769: Cool.**

Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: iCarly belongs to Dan Schneider.

* * *

**iGet Stuck**

Freddie once again was having trouble. He shook his head; he couldn't go a day now without Angela getting on his case about something. In this case there had been a…incident on iCarly; Freddie had been spending more and more time at Carly's apartment, trying to help Carly and Sam out. Angela wasn't taking it too well; right now she was arguing with him; he was getting tired.

"Honestly Freddie." She declared angrily, "how could you do this to me?!"

Freddie sighed; he had tried to explain it so many times, he now had to do so again. "Listen Angela; Carly's my friend, I've been friends for her for as long as I can remember."

Angela flared up and started on him again. "So what, I'm your girlfriend!" She shrieked, "Are you still so blind you can't see she doesn't want us together. You are spending way too much time with her and hardly any time with me!"

Freddie groaned and shook his head. "Will you just shut up about her?!"

Angela growled. "Fine!"

With that she turned and stormed away. Freddie rolled his eyes; things were going from bad to worse. Shaking his head he left the apartment and headed over to Carly's apartment.

Carly and Sam were sitting on the sofa together; one of the iCarly stunts had gone wrong and now the two were stuck together by a pair of trick handcuffs. Both girls did not panic at first; at least until they lost both keys for the handcuffs and now they had to resort to other methods. So far however nothing worked and they were still stuck together, they had been for four days now.

Sam groaned and shook her head in frustration. "Ugh, this is just great." She complained.

Carly nodded, equally frustrated. "Yeah, I'm never using handcuffs again, once we get outta this."

"Yeah, what is this, the second day or something since we've been stuck together?" Sam asked; Carly shook her head.

"I don't know, I've lost track." She answered.

Freddie smiled lightly as he walked over to them. "It's been four days guys." He told them.

Sam and Carly looked at each other and both groaned. "Ugh, perfect, four days." Sam moaned.

Carly turned to Freddie.

"Is there anything else you can think of Freddie?" She asked.

Freddie sighed.  
"I'm thinking, so far thought, nothing."

Both girls lowered their heads at that. Freddie then headed upstairs, both to think of a way to free them and to try and find out where the keys had disappeared too.

Meanwhile Carly and Sam remained seated on the sofa; the TV was on but neither of them were really watching it. Finally, after a drawn out silence Sam turned to Carly.

"Um, listen, Carls...about, you know...Everything that's happened." She stated awkwardly.

Carly knew what Sam meant; she was referring to their arguments and the tension that had been between them ever since that day Carly had found out about Sam and Freddie's kiss.

She was confused however as to why Sam was bringing it up now of all times. "Sam?"

"I'm sorry." Sam replied, "Really, I'm really sorry. Most of everything that's happened is my fault...But, I'm still not gonna apologize for that kiss incident."

Carly nodded, she expected that much at least. Finally she sighed and smiled.

"Okay, I accept your apology." She said; Sam smiled and Carly continued. "As for the kissing incident...well; let's just try and put it behind us, besides, we've got more important issues to worry about just now."

Sam nodded as she glanced at their handcuffed wrists. "No duh."

Freddie came down later, sadly without the keys or any news ideas; so the girls were stuck together for yet another day. Freddie and the girls attempted to find the keys and find alternative ways to set them free; Spencer helped too but none of them were successful. Freddie was more exasperated than ever, Angela was still on his case about what was happening and now Carly and Sam had been stuck together for seven days.

Carly knew Sam was getting even more frustrated as each day passed.

"We'll get outta this Sam; we just have to be patient." She said, trying to reassure and calm her friend down.

Sam just nodded sullenly. "We would've been outta here sooner if Fredwierd hadn't lost the keys." She snapped.

Carly shrugged.

"Well, at least things can't get...worse." She said, trailing off at the end when there was a knock at the door.

When Spencer answered it turned out to be Shelby and Gibby. Neither of them knew about the incident so when they stepped in and saw the two girls there was a very awkward silence.

"Oh no." Carly moaned as Sam shook her head.

"Shoot me now." Sam muttered.

Shelby managed an awkward smile.

"Hey guys." She greeted, "So um..."

Gibby however simply cut to the chase. "What happened to you two?"

Sam sighed and explained. "Trick went wrong on iCarly, now Carls and I are stuck together. We've been stuck like this for seven days now."

Gibby sighed as Shelby tried to stifle a laugh. She then walked over and examined the handcuffs as Carly explained about all the methods they had tried.

"Nothing worked and we still can't find the keys." She finished. "I'm started to get worried to be honest."

Shelby nodded after hearing the whole story. "I see, well; have you tried...?"

Sam cut across her. "We've tried every method we can think of; Spencer's coming up with something just now. If that doesn't work, who knows?"

At that point Spencer returned and revealed his plan.

A soap and plaster cast of the key. However, predictably with Spencer's plans; it didn't work. Instead the key broke in the lock. Luckily nothing got stuck however.

Carly groaned. "This stupid lock is the problem; if we could just get it undone we'd be fine."

It was as if Carly had said the magic words. Sam's face lit up and she smiled.

"You know what Carls, you're right. It's the lock that's the problem." She stated before reaching up and pulling a hairpin out from her hair. "Can't believe I didn't think of this before."

With that Sam began trying to pick the lock. Carly watched apprehensively. Freddie shook his head.

"Sam I don't think that's..." He stopped short as the cuff around Carly's wrist clicked open and Carly was freed.

"There, see, good old lockpick works every time."

With that Sam got to work on the other cuff and soon undid that too. Now both girls were free and mutually agreed never to use that stunt, or any others involving handcuffs ever again.

* * *

End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.


	10. iMove Out

**iFeel a Change**

Next chapter of my iCarly story, enjoy.

**Reviews**

**Boris Yeltsin: Thanks, glad you enjoyed it.  
Wolfgirl77769: Thanks, here you go :)**

Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: iCarly belongs to Dan Schneider.

* * *

**iMove Out**

Freddie groaned and shook his head. For once however, despite recent events, his troubles were not with Angela. It was his mother; while she had been calmer and seemed to be less than her usual overzealous, overprotective self recently, that had changed after his relationship with Angela had begun to disintegrate. So it happened that once again, he was stuck listening to his mother harp on about his safety and all the other things she gave him trouble for.

Finally he couldn't take it anymore. "Mom, enough!" He yelled suddenly.

Marissa glared at him. "Freddie, don't speak to me like that...I've told you..."

He cut across her angrily. "No mom, I'm not taking this anymore, I've told you...I'm growing up, why can't you accept that!?"

Marissa sighed sadly and shook her head.

"After what happened with your father..."

Freddie rolled his eyes, typical, using his father's death as a guilt trip. Well he wasn't going to fall for it this time.

"Ugh, not this again." He groaned. "Mom, I'm getting sick fed up with this."

Marissa glared at him again.

"Freddie, I'm only doing what's best for you." She stated indignantly.

Freddie shook his head, his scepticism clear to see.

"I find that very hard to believe." He stated, "I don't wanna hear anymore mom, I'm outta here."

With that he turned and left the apartment, heading for apartment 8C across the hall.

Carly was initially surprised to see Freddie over so early. However he quickly explained about the incidents that had occurred with his mother. Carly sighed and shook her head by the time he finished.

"Ugh what is wrong with that woman?" She grumbled.

Freddie nodded in agreement. "I know, someone's gotta talk some sense into her."

Carly shrugged. "Who can?"

Freddie nodded slowly, realizing the futility of what he had just said. Carly was right so he amended his statement.

"I guess you're right." He stated finally. "In that case, someone needs to make her see sense."

Carly gave a small smile and nodded. "So...what are you gonna do?" She asked hesitantly.

Freddie smiled back. "Make her see sense; I've taken care of it."

"How?"

"Finding my own apartment." He answered. Carly gaped at him.

Finally she found her voice. "Are you serious?"

"Yeah, I've already found a place...well, technically it's a big storage cupboard but still; it's inhabitable."

Carly stared at him in amazement and admiration; finally however she spoke.

"You're desperate for this to work huh?" She pointed out.

Freddie sighed and nodded. "I want her to see reason."

"Well, would it be okay if I dropped by later?" She asked; Freddie smiled and nodded.

"Sure, that'd be great."

She smiled and he then left; much to her chagrin, to meet up with Angela.

When Freddie arrived Angela was angry at him being late. However when he explained about the scenario with his mother she calmed down somewhat.

"So what are you gonna do about it?" She asked; Freddie sighed and then explained about finding his own apartment, including all the details of his conversation with Carly.

Angela suddenly glared at him. "Wait a minute, you already told _her_; you told her first." She snapped.

Freddie groaned wondering how he ended up with this girl in the first place. How could he not have seen what she would be like?

"Angela; you're blowing things out of proportion." She spun around to face him, angrier than ever.

"Excuse me, I'm your girlfriend, yet you talk that...girl first, it should've been me!"

Freddie groaned. "She has a name."

"Yeah, that's all you ever care about." Angela spat. "Forget this, we're through."

Freddie looked up at her in surprise. "You're seriously dumping me for something as stupid as this."  
"Shut up, if that's what you think about this then yes, I'm definitely dumping you."

With that she stalked away; Freddie sighed and shook his head. He thought about their relationship and how it had been falling apart for some time. Maybe this was for the best, all that really mattered to him now was he was free of Angela's angry speeches and stuck up attitude. Shrugging he left the area and headed to his new apartment.

A few days had passed, Freddie had settled into his new apartment. Carly was yet to visit but she didn't have a chance at the moment, because right now she was dealing with a tirade from Mrs. Benson. Apparently Freddie's 'disappearance' had enraged Mrs. Benson to the point that Carly was somehow to blame.

"You, this is all your fault." She said viciously, "You've done something to him."

"Wha, excuse me?" Carly gasped in response.

Sam and Bobby were also present to witness what was happening. Bobby glared at what he had heard and stood up.

"Now, see 'ere..." He began but Sam put a restraining hand on his shoulder.

She shook her head. "Don't get involved, that's the last thing you want, just let it blow over, trust me."

Bobby gaped at Sam in disbelief. "Why, she can' git away wi' dis." He stated angrily. "She can' treat dem dis way."

Sam shook her head. "Please, just don't."

Bobby groaned. Carly glared at Mrs. Benson.

"Just what am I supposed to have done now?" She asked angrily.

"You've been messing up Freddie' boy chemistry, making things difficult for him and Angela. Now you've somehow got it into his head that I'm not trying to do what's best for him when I am!" Mrs. Benson shrieked.

Carly stood up, her anger peaked. "How dare you blame me for _nothing_!?"

"You're the reason Freddie broke up with his girlfriend!"  
"Actually, Angela dumped me, because she was so possessive." They all turned and saw Freddie standing in the doorway, glaring at his mother.

He stepped into the room, still glaring and before Mrs. Benson could speak he continued. "As far as Angela was concerned, I wasn't allowed to have any friends, I wasn't allowed to hang out with Carly, Sam, Bobby, any of them. I had to be with her at all times. Even when Rachel was here...Especially when Rachel was here, she acted like that."

Mrs. Benson was about to speak again when Bobby cut across her this time.

"Ya see; you're bein' totally unfair 'ere." He stated directly.

"Oh am I?" Mrs. Benson challenged.

"Yeah." Carly replied.

Mrs. Benson just growled and, muttering angrily to herself, she left the apartment. Freddie shook his head and sighed heavily.

"She still doesn't get it." He remarked. Carly nodded in agreement.

"Well, she's gonna have to learn...Listen, sorry about that."

Freddie shrugged. "It's fine."

"How about I come around tomorrow?" She asked.

Freddie nodded and agreed. Carly prepared herself now for tomorrow, she would finally see Freddie's new apartment and see how he was coping, living on his own.

* * *

End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.


	11. iRedecorate

**iFeel a Change**

Next chapter of my iCarly story, enjoy.

**Reviews**

**Boris Yeltsin: Thanks, glad you enjoyed it.  
bookaholic2000: Thanks glad you enjoyed it all, yup, well here's what happens next :)**

Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: iCarly belongs to Dan Schneider.

* * *

**iRedecorate**

Carly smiled as she followed Freddie to his new apartment. She had to admit, the very idea that Freddie was living on his own excited and thrilled her. While she had tried to be sympathetic when she heard about Freddie and Angela break up, she guiltily felt a secret burst of pleasure at the thought. She wanted to say something about the feelings she had been nursing, yet she felt it would be tactless to try and talk to him about her feelings so soon after the break up. They stopped and Freddie unlocked and opened the door. They walked inside.

"Here we are." He stated.

Carly looked around and her jaw dropped. The place was an absolute mess; the only thing that looked remotely tidy was the camp bed set up in the corner of the room. The walls were filthy and it badly needed redecorated. She didn't want to guess about the strange musty smell hanging in the air. A small door that undoubtedly led to the lavatory hid its dark secrets. Carly sighed and shifted on her feet before finally finding the courage to speak up.

"Freddie, I don't mean to be rude, but this place is kinda a dump."

Freddie sighed and nodded in agreement. "I know, I was thinking of fixing it up."

Carly smiled as she saw a possible chance. "Allow me."

Freddie was surprised by this.

"You're gonna help?"

Carly nodded and Freddie accepted gratefully.

They soon got to work and before long they had managed to clean up the apartment; with Carly's help they were able to make it more presentable. This included cleaning down the walls and fixing up the wallpaper. Before long however they had managed to do just that. Tidying up the mess in the room had uncovered a second bed, a guest bed, too. It had taken them several days, Carly coming over each morning, after fending off an irate Mrs. Benson, to help fix things up. Freddie admitted that living on his own was harder than he first anticipated; but was determined to stick it out until his mother realized the truth. He smiled as they finally finished and the smile was warm, real. He was truly grateful to Carly and was certain that his old feelings for her were resurfacing. He thought that dating Angela would allow him to forget the heartbreak that came with Carly's rejections, it didn't. However now, he at least felt that being Carly's friend was better than nothing at all. Carly smiled too, it was good to spend so much time with Freddie. She had to admit, while she wouldn't outwardly say it, her feelings for him had changed and just being close to him was enough to make her happy. They surveyed their work and Carly nodded.

"There we go, all done." She said triumphantly.

Freddie turned to her, still smiling. "Thanks Carls, you're a lifesaver.

Carly bowed her head so her hair would hide her blush.

It was then that Bobby arrived; he smiled when he saw the place and they turned to greet him.

"'Ey, 'ow's it goin'?" He asked as he walked in.

Freddie shrugged, smiling wider. "Can't complain, managed to fix this place up nicely, thanks to Carls."

Carly gave a short laugh at that. She then turned serious as she turned to Freddie again.

"You're not gonna go back, are you?" She asked. Freddie sighed.

"No, not unless mom finally sees reason, I'm not some little kid anymore, she has to accept that."

Carly nodded slowly, wondering if Mrs. Benson would ever see reason. But she kept that thought to herself. Bobby then indicated over his shoulder.

"By de way, ya 'ave a visitor."

They looked past him to see a familiar nine year old blonde girl, standing smiling.

"Paige?" Carly gasped in surprise.

Paige Summers smiled wider and nodded. "Hi guys."

True to their word Carly and the gang had visited the Summer's apartment at least twice now. Carly had been recently to babysit while John and Annie were out.

Paige noted their surprise and shrugged. "I just thought I'd drop by."

Freddie blinked and replied. "Okay..."

Paige sighed and explained. "Rach is in hospital; a cold or something. It's not serious but the doctors want to keep her overnight for observation. Mom and dad didn't want me to spend the whole night at the hospital. So I asked if I could stay with you guys and they said yes."

She paused before a look of worry crossed her face. "It's...It's no problem right?"

Carly recovered her smile. "Of course not, you're more than welcome to stay with us."

Paige let out a relieved sigh. "So...What's been going on?" She asked.

So they told her about the incident with Mrs. Benson and Freddie's subsequent move towards independence.

When they had finish Paige was aghast.

"No way, she...that's unbelievable." She stated.

Freddie nodded in agreement. "Tell me about it."

Paige shook her head. "You have to work something out."

"We will." Freddie assured her. "But she has to understand the truth first."

Paige sighed, realizing this was true. While Freddie's apartment was cleaned up now, he decided that, along with everybody else, he'd spend the night at Carly's apartment. Paige was excited at the prospect of a sleepover with the whole gang and they all headed to apartment 8-C. They entered and found Sam and Spencer already waiting for them. Sam smiled when she saw them.  
"Hey guys, hi Paige." She greeted.

Paige smiled back. "Hi Aunt Sam."

Sam looked surprised. "Huh, what's with that?"

Paige shifted her feet awkwardly. "I...um, well you guys are so close to us now, you practically are my aunts and uncles...If you don't want me to, I can..."

Sam however shook her head and they all reassured Paige that it was fine. Finally Gibby and Shelby arrived and the group all prepared snacks and settled in to watch a movie. After the movie it was late so the group all got ready for bed and said their goodnights. Before long they were all asleep and the apartment was still and silent.

However that silence was shattered by a scream, the others all jerked awake and looked around. They then saw the source of the scream. Paige was thrashing in the sleeping bag she was in, screaming, clearly in the grips of a horrific nightmare. Freddie was the closest so he tried to wake her up. She jerked awake and then saw him.

"F-Freddie." She sobbed out before suddenly throwing her arms around him and crying into his shoulder.

Freddie looked at the others, lost. But then Carly indicated he should hold her and calm her down. He did so.

"It...It was..." She choked out. Freddie did his best to sooth her.

"It's okay, you're okay now, you're safe."

Paige took a few deep calming breaths and then, realizing the others were awake looked over Freddie's shoulder at them. "I'm sorry."

Carly shook her head. "It's okay Paige, but what...?"

"I don't wanna talk about it." Paige said, her voice suddenly fearful.

While worried by this they respected her wishes and didn't ask. Freddie soon soothed her back to sleep and they all returned to sleep too. The following morning nobody mentioned the nightmare and Paige seemed as cheerful and energetic as ever. When her parents came to pick her up she said goodbye and they drove off. Freddie returned to his apartment, while still determined to teach his mother a lesson, he was worried about Paige and hoped, whatever had caused her such fear, would not be a real threat to the young girl.

* * *

End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.


	12. iWon't Compromise

**iFeel a Change**

Next chapter of my iCarly story.

**Reviews**

**Boris Yeltsin: Thanks, glad you enjoyed it.  
Isabella India: *sigh* Read the story summary; I clearly state this is a Creddie story, and Sam instead gets together with an OC (Bobby).**

Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: iCarly belongs to Dan Schneider.

* * *

**iWon't Compromise**

Freddie sighed as he lay back on his bed. It had been a whole month since he moved into his own place. It had been a week since Paige had come to visit, since that strange nightmare. Freddie was worried about the poor girl who seemed reluctant to talk about whatever caused the nightmare. He was jolted out of his thoughts by a knock at the door. He stood up and walked over to it; he opened the door and froze. It was his mother. She stood there, Freddie noted however that she looked different, she seemed almost contrite.

He sighed and stepped back. "Mom." He greeted, his voice careful.

"Freddie." She returned the greeting. "May…May I come in?"

He nodded and Marissa stepped inside. Freddie closed the door and turned to her. There was awkward silence until finally Freddie spoke.

"So, you finally found me…What…Why…?" He began awkwardly until he finally sighed. "Mom, you know why I did what I did. So why are you here?"

There was another silence as Marissa remained quiet, her head bowed. Until finally she lifted her head to face her son.

"I miss you so much." She gasped out. "But…I…I don't understand…Why are you doing this to me?"

Freddie sighed. "You know why, you have to understand mom. I'm growing up, that's the point I'm trying to make. You have to accept that; that's why I did this."  
Marissa shook her head; amazed at what she was hearing.

Finally she couldn't take it anymore.

"Freddie please…"

"I'm sorry mom." He replied. "But I'm not coming back, I can't."

She glared at that. "Carly put you up to this; She…"

Freddie glared back and cut across her. "Stop blaming her for everything; this isn't Carly's fault, it's your fault mom. You refuse to accept that I'm growing up and can't see that I don't like the same things I used to. Things change mom; you have to see that."

Marissa was stunned by this; finally she staggered back and sat on the bed. A few gasps shook her shoulders. Freddie finally softened.

"Mom, I'm sorry. But…I've proven, I can take care of myself." He explained. "I am independent; I don't need you to protect me anymore."

Marissa nodded. "I know that…But, I just…I don't want things to be like this."

Freddie calmed down completely then.

"Look, mom, maybe we can compromise somehow." He offered. "Maybe, come to some sort of agreement."

Marissa looked up and smiled. "I…Yes, okay, let's…Let's try and compromise."

Freddie sat down on the bed and they began discussing their compromise. Standing outside the door Carly smiled. She had seen Mrs. Benson approaching Freddie's apartment and was worried. But as she stood outside and listened she realized Freddie knew what he was doing. Finally it looked like things were about to be sorted out. She wondered what would happen next. Taking note to ask Freddie later she headed back to her apartment.

She arrived back to see a surprising sight. With the Summers out at Parents Night for Paige's school, Carly had agreed to look after Rachel for a while. When she saw Mrs. Benson going to Freddie's apartment; and with Bobby, Gibby, Shelby and Spencer all away out, she had no choice but to leave Rachel with Sam. Despite worrying about Sam's capabilities; Carly had returned to find Sam smiling gently, cradling Rachel as the little girl slept soundly. Sam looked up when Carly walked in and smiled.

"Hey Carls." She stated. "Here, Rach slept most of the time. No worries alright."

Carly smiled. "Yeah, I guess you're right. I'm sorry I had any doubts Sam."

Sam just smiled and Carly took Rachel from her. Carly went and put Rachel in the crib they had set up for her. Carly then joined Sam on the sofa, setting the baby monitor next to the sofa.

"So Carls," Sam asked. "What happened with Mrs. Benson?"

Carly sighed. "Nothing much, Freddie actually managed to settle thing with her." She explained. "They're settling some compromise just now."

Sam smiled. "Great, maybe now she'll get off your back."

Carly nodded; although she sincerely doubted that Mrs. Benson would stop blaming her for all of Freddie's problems. Maybe some of them, but not all.

Freddie sighed in relief as he leaned back slightly. Finally, after much talking and compromising; he and his mother had finally reached an agreement.

"I…I'm happy we've finally agreed on this mom." He admitted.

Marissa smiled. "So am I. You…You were right Freddie, I was wrong."

They had finally agreed on amendment of how she treated Freddie and her allowance to give him more independence. Part of that included allowing him to stay in his apartment. However he would no longer refuse to come and see her in their old apartment. After an awkward pause both mother and son hugged each other. They parted and smiled, relieved that things had finally been sorted out.

Mrs Benson broke the silence. "You know, Carly is looking after Rachel until her parents get back."

Freddie nodded.

"I'll go see them." He stood up and they both left the apartment.

Before walking on Freddie then admitted.

"I'm glad we had this talk."

Mrs. Benson agreed. "I know; we both needed it."

So, still smiling they headed back. Mrs. Benson had to head out to work so Freddie headed to apartment 8C by himself. Carly and Sam looked up as he entered and Carly smiled. Sam simply returned to watching TV.

"Hey Freddie." She greeted. "So, how did it go?"

Freddie looked confused until Carly explained what she had done. He nodded.

"It's fine, we've sorted things out. I'll, I'll still be living there; but mom's finally accepted the truth. That I'm growing and I don't need her protection anymore."

"That's good." Carly replied.

At that moment Rachel woke up and Carly went to get her.

Carly came down a little later with Rachel in her arms. Carly explained that Rachel had needed changing; when Rachel saw Freddie she smiled and reached for him.

"Dee-dada." She cried out. Due to their help in looking after her until her family was traced, Rachel saw Carly and Freddie as second parents. She called them 'Cawly-mama' and 'Dee-dada'; mainly because she couldn't say Freddie yet.

Freddie smiled and took Rachel, cradling her. There was a knock at the door; Carly answered it and smiled as the others all arrived. They all spoke to each other happily; however Carly noticed briefly that when Sam spoke to Bobby she blushed slightly. However she didn't comment on it. After talking together and looking after Rachel for some time the Summers family returned to pick Rachel up. Freddie smiled Rachel waved goodbye to them from her mother's arms. He was relieved that at last things had been sorted out with his mother and now it looked like things would change, for the better he hoped.

* * *

End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.


	13. iSave Your Life

**iFeel a Change**

Next chapter of my iCarly story, enjoy.

**Reviews**

**Boris Yeltsin: Thanks, glad you enjoyed it, yeah :)**

Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: iCarly belongs to Dan Schneider.

* * *

**iSave Your Life**

There was silence as the shadowy man fumed. Standing watching him was Johnny and Maurice, the two escaped convicts who had avoided being caught thanks to this man. They had however angered him. After a bungled incident some time ago they felt they were on thin ice. Johnny fidgeted and then sighed before speaking.

"Boss, we…"

The shadowy man however shook his head; he'd had enough of their excuses.

"Okay, it was a mistake, I get it." He stated angrily. "When I told you who to kidnap, I meant the other girl."

He picked up a photo and showed it to them. The photo was of the Summer's family; Annie's stomach was swollen in its ninth month of pregnancy. The man pointed to Paige.

"Her, she is the one I wanted you to kidnap."

Maurice groaned when he saw the picture. "But boss, how are we supposed to kidnap her? She's too big for us to just grab and bring to you."

The man glared. "I know that!" He snapped angrily.

Johnny nodded slowly.

"We'll need to grab a car and use it to bring her here." He stated.

The man glared. "Well you can't take mine; it would be too obvious when the kidnapping is reported."

"So now what are we gonna do?" Maurice asked.

Johnny shrugged nonchalantly.

"We'll just have to take one." He remarked casually.

The man nodded in agreement and the two criminals left to steal a car to carry out their task.

Later Carly, Sam and Freddie were leaving the Groovie Smoothie. Freddie was grumbling; Sam was smirking.

"Can't believe I lost that bet." Freddie muttered to himself. Sam laughed.

"C'mon Freddork. You should know better." She remarked. "You can't beat me."

Carly rolled her eyes. "Honestly Freddie, Sam's right; you should know better than to bet against Sam."

Freddie just growled and then looked up, his eyes suddenly widened.

"Carly look out!" He yelled.

She looked around and realized to her horror she was no longer on the sidewalk. She was standing out in the middle of the road and a car was speeding towards her. She knew she had to get out of the way but her body froze and wouldn't respond. Suddenly she felt herself stumble and hit the ground and roll. Her knees and hands were skinned and bleeding, her shoulder hurt but apart from that she was alright. But when she looked up she froze. Freddie was now in the middle of the road. He had pushed her out of the way, putting himself in dire peril in the process. He merely smiled lightly and mouthed 'you're safe' before the car struck him head on. It was like in slow motion as she watched him hit the ground with sickening crack and the car drove off without even stopping.

Almost at once panic seized her. "Freddie!" She screamed and ran to his side, ignoring the pain that lanced through her. She knew it was nothing compared to the pain Freddie would be in.

She stopped at his side and gasped, horrified, when she saw the blood. She gently shook him.

"Freddie...Freddie."

He managed to crack open an eye and smiled weakly. "You're...safe. I'm so...glad..."

With that his eye closed again and Carly hugged him tightly. "No Freddie, stay with me, talk to me...Please don't die..."

She looked up briefly, Sam was standing over her, very pale, she said something about calling 911 but Carly was too far gone to hear the rest of it. The ambulance then arrived and so did Spencer. Despite Carly's efforts to hold on and stay with him, the paramedics removed Freddie from her grasps and took him away in the ambulance. She stared in disbelief before she felt a hand on her shoulder, she turned, it was Sam.

"C'mon Carls. Let's go, Spencer's gonna give us a lift to the hospital."

Still numb with disbelief and with her mind racing Carly got in the car and Spencer drove them there. Throughout the whole trip Carly's mind was racing, her desperation for Freddie's well-being consumed her. She couldn't believe what had just happened, those heartless creeps who had driven that car, they didn't even stop. But then a new thought hit her; it could've been her that got hit. Freddie had saved her life; _he_ had saved _her_. That one thought continued to dwell in her mind as they finally arrived in the hospital.

They had been waiting for some time, Carly's worries mounted again. But it disturbed her that Sam and Spencer didn't share her worries. They seemed to be more concerned with Carly's appearance. She was still sitting wearing the clothes she had been during the incident and was covered in Freddie's blood.

"Carls..." Spencer tried to reason with her but she shook her head.

"No, I can't." She replied; she felt it would undo his sacrifice if she washed Freddie's blood off, especially if... "I mean, what if he..."

Sam cut across her. "He won't die Carls. Besides, how do you think he'll feel if he sees you like this when he wakes up?"

Carly shook her head sadly. "You mean if..."

"_When_ he wakes up Carls." Sam repeated firmly. "Trust me, I might not say it, but Freddie's stronger than you're thinking. Now c'mon."

Carly finally relented and allowed Sam to lead her to the bathroom. Her own injuries no longer hurt or bled. She cleaned herself up and changed into the new clothes Spencer had brought for her. Finally they all sat in the waiting room until the doctor came out and informed that that Freddie had regained consciousness. They hurried through to the ward; he was indeed awake, his right leg and arm was encased in casts but he didn't seem to be in pain any longer.

"Freddie." Carly cried as she stepped forwards.

He smiled. "Hey Carls, thank god you're okay."

She managed to smile back and felt relieved. Carly looked like she was about to tell him something when Mrs. Benson arrived and so she stepped back and decided to wait till later.

Several days had passed; Carly stood outside apartment 8D nervous. Word had spread about Freddie rescuing Carly and many at school were remarking on his heroic actions. Carly admitted they were right; but there was something else. She wanted to tell him something; but Mrs. Benson had taken an unnatural aversion to her presence and scowled whenever she came close. Due to his injuries Freddie wasn't able to stay by himself in his own apartment, so he had temporarily been moved back into his old apartment. However Carly couldn't take it anymore, she would endure Mrs. Benson glares and mutterings and talk to Freddie; she had to explain to him. So, finally she knocked on the door. Mrs. Benson answered and, despite her scowling and muttering she allowed Carly in. After announcing in a warning tone that she would be out for a while she left. Carly headed into Freddie's room and smiled when she saw him sitting up in bed. Freddie also smiled when he saw her.

"Hey Carls…How's…?" He began hesitantly.

Carly smiled and then explained. "Your mom's still not too happy about what happened. She's angry I guess. But the people at school…They all say you're a hero."

Freddie groaned and rolled his eyes. He looked at his injuries and then sighed.

"I don't…I don't feel like a hero."

Carly then made up her mind; she could tell Freddie the truth, barely having to say any words. Actions always spoke louder than words, so she heard.

"You are a hero…to me."

As she admitted this she sat down on the bed and leaned it, then, to Freddie's surprise, she kissed him.

* * *

End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.


	14. iFall Harder

**iFeel a Change**

Next chapter in my iCarly story, enjoy.

**Reviews**

**Boris Yeltsin: Thanks, glad you enjoyed it.  
PD31: Yeah well, just wait and see what happens, I already have it all planned out :)**

Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: iCarly belongs to Dan Schneider.

* * *

**iFall Harder**

Freddie's eyes widened, unable to believe it. Carly was kissing him, actually _kissing him._ For so long he had waited for this moment, now that it was happening he could scarcely believe it was true. However the shock soon passed and before long he found himself returning the kiss. It was deep and longing, the kiss he had been waiting for, for years. Finally, when the need for oxygen grew too great they parted, gasping for air. Carly's hair was slightly tousled and her lips slightly swollen. Freddie smirked when he realized that it had been him who had caused it.

"Carly I..." He breathed but she shook her head.

"You don't need to say anything Freddie." She told him. "I know...we've kinda drifted apart lately but...I want to fix that now."

Freddie nodded. "But I don't understand, please...tell me if this is true...You love me, that's why you kissed me right, you have feelings for me."

Carly smiled. "Yes Freddie, I do love you. You're a hero, you saved my life and I realize now, I shouldn't have treated you the way I did. I shouldn't have constantly turned you down."

She shook her head sadly. "I want to make that right; I want to fix things, the best way I know how. I want to follow my heart now, rather than ignore it."

She looked up at him, her eyes showed her hesitance. "Do you believe me?"

"Only one way to know for sure." Freddie replied. "Kiss me again."

Carly smiled and willingly obliged. They once again found themselves lost in the kiss, unaware that, at that moment, Mrs. Benson had returned and had seen them.

Needless to say Mrs. Benson almost exploded with rage. Shouting angrily she forcibly ejected Carly from the apartment and then went to confront Freddie. When she returned Freddie glared at her angrily.

"Mom!" He began to complain but Marissa shook her head.

"I'm sorry Freddie, but I can't allow this, she's a bad influence." She stated.

Freddie groaned and lay back on his bed. "You're being completely paranoid." He replied angrily.

Mrs. Benson sighed and shook her head, suddenly sad. She thought and thought but couldn't think of a way to properly explain her actions to Freddie.

Finally she simply answered as frankly as she could. "You wouldn't understand Freddie."

Freddie narrowed his eyes at her. "You're the one who doesn't understand, and it looks like you never will. I thought we'd got past all this."

She didn't say a word in reply. She merely looked away, still looking somewhat sad. Freddie, now truly exasperated tried to state his case.

"She'd be dead if I hadn't done something."

Marissa turned back to face her son, slowly nodding. Finally she spoke up.

"I know. But still, you wouldn't believe me if I told you."

With those cryptic words she turned and left the room, leaving Freddie more confused and frustrated than ever.

Meanwhile, Sam and Bobby were out walking, Sam was surprised by what Bobby had just told her.

"W-wait a minute." She stammered, taken aback. "Are you sure about this?"

Bobby smiled and nodded. "Course ah'm sure. Ma parents wanna meet ya, cher."

Sam gulped nervously; his parents, true she had never met them, but she was sure they wouldn't like her. After all, she was still on probation with her ankle bracelet. Yet it didn't seem polite to point this out and while she didn't usually care about politeness, she felt like she couldn't say no. Not to Bobby anyway.

"Are...you sure about this?" She asked. Bobby smiled and nodded, she sighed. "Okay then, let's go."

They walked to Bobby's apartment, they stopped at the door; Bobby noticed Sam's apprehension.

"Relax cher, it'll be a'right." He told her.

Sam shrugged. "If you say so."

With that Bobby opened the door and they entered the house. They headed through to the living room and Sam saw his parents for the first time. Mr. Duke was tall, in his forties with short blonde hair, hazel eyes and well toned muscles. Bobby had inherited his father's bone structure and facial features, but his hair and eyes he got from his mother who was above average height with long brown hair and brown eyes. Compared to her husband she was slender and petit. Bobby stepped forwards as they stood up.

"Mom _et_ Pop, dis is de girl ah told ya 'bout. Sam" He said indicating Sam. "Sam, dese are ma parents, Remy and Abby Duke."

Sam felt herself relax slightly when she saw the Duke's smile at her in greeting.

Remy came forwards and shook her hand.

"Is a real pleasure to meet ya." He said; like Bobby he had a thick Cajun accent. So too did his wife.

Abby also stepped forwards and greeted her too. However it was then that Abby, carefully looking Sam up and down, spotted the ankle bracelet.

"What de..." She gasped. "Jus' what is dat?"

Remy's face also showed the same sudden suspicion that his wife's did. Sam sighed and explained as best she could about her visits to juvenile hall and her arrest record, which had landed her with the electronic tag. Abby suddenly spun to face her son; shock written all over her face.

"You friends wi' a criminal Bobby?" She remarked.

Bobby groaned and shook his head. "Mom please..."

Remy however cut across him. "Sorry son, but ah can' 'ave dis."

"Sam's a great friend. Please, don' be like dis."

Finally, after looking from Bobby to each other and back again, the Dukes seemed to calm down and turned back to Sam. She had stood still, waiting for the storm to blow over.

"A'right." Abby said finally. "We'll give a chance...But only one, do ya understand?"

Sam heaved a sigh of relief and nodded. "Yes ma'am...Thank you."

Bobby seemed to realize that his parents still weren't completely happy and so he left with Sam, so as not enflame things further. After they left however Remy seemed to realize something.

"Honey, ya know ah swear ah seen dat girl before." He stated. "Internet or somethin'."

Abby's eyes widened in realization. "Oh; she's dat Sam Puckett form the web show Bobby watches...She's always gettin' into trouble dat one."

Remy nodded as it clicked into place for him to, the girl Bobby had been crushing on since the show first started.

Meanwhile, Carly was sitting in her apartment. She was still smiling at the memory of kissing Freddie. It was like a release; all the pent up feelings, the realization of how much he had meant to her, had come out in that one moment. Despite Mrs. Benson's intrusion and strange behaviour, Carly knew she and Freddie were together now, that was all that mattered. Mrs. Benson could ban her from Freddie's apartment all she wanted; Carly knew that sooner or later, Freddie would be fit enough to leave for school and come over to her place. They would have then to be together and, once Freddie was completely recovered and back in his own place, nothing would stop them being together. There was a knock at the door.

"It's open." She called out.

The door opened and Sam walked in; Carly smiled.

"Hey Sam, you okay?" She asked, noting her friend's slightly downcast expression.

Sam sighed and sat down on the sofa. "Yeah, Bobby just took me to meet his parents...It, didn't go so well."

Carly nodded slowly, guessing what Sam meant. "They saw the tag huh?"

Sam nodded, confirming Carly's suspicions.

Sam then shrugged. "Well, it doesn't really matter; they're willing to give me a chance...Can't say for sure but I think they recognized me, so maybe they'll expect me to be trouble."

Carly couldn't help but smirk along with Sam at that. Finally Sam turned to Carly and noticed the joy in her friend.

"So what's up with you?"

Carly smiled widely and told Sam about what had happened with Freddie and her hopes for the future. Sam seemed mildly surprised but appeared happy for them and wished them luck.

Freddie sighed and shook his head.

"I still can't believe all this mom; I can't believe I'm back here." He stated, "And the way you're acting..."

"This is for the best Freddie."

He glared. "Who's, mine of yours."

Marissa sighed. "Freddie..."

He shook his head. "You can't stop me and Carly being together mom; soon I'll be out of here and back to school."

Marissa shook her head and left the room, muttering to herself. Freddie was confused by this but didn't dwell on it, instead focusing on getting better and being able to return to school and, more importantly, to Carly.

* * *

End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.


	15. iWant You to Stay

**iFeel a Change**

Next chapter of my iCarly story, enjoy.

**Reviews**

**Boris Yeltsin: Yeah well, she has her reasons.**

Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: iCarly belongs to Dan Schneider.

* * *

**iWant You to Stay**

Having recovered enough to finally go back to school, Freddie had never been happier. He and Carly spent as much time as they could together, kissing or simply sitting with her resting her head on his shoulder. However Mrs. Benson still banned Carly from visiting the apartment so Freddie acted again, moving out once more. While still in casts and using crutches, not being fit enough to go back to his own place, he moved into apartment 8C. He had remembered Carly's surprise when he asked her if it was alright.

"Freddie, are you sure about this?" She had asked. He had replied honestly.

"Yes, I'm positive, she's driving me crazy.

She had smiled and accepted and Spencer had also accepted, helping him settle in and get comfortable. Right now he was sitting on the sofa, Carly sat cuddled up at his uninjured side. Spencer had gone through to the kitchen. They sat in silence for a while and then finally Carly sighed.

After a pause she spoke. "So, your mom's still not happy with us being together?"

"No." Freddie replied before shaking his head. "But she has to see she's over-reacting; there's nothing wrong with this."

Carly smiled. "I know."

With that she leaned in and kissed him. Freddie returned the kiss and they were lost in each other until Spencer called on them and they separated. They smiled at each other, certain that nothing could stop them now.

Meanwhile, at the same time Sam and Bobby were at a diner. They were starting to hang out together a lot more, especially since Carly was devoting more time to taking care of Freddie. At first Sam had feared Carly would forget their friendship, but that turned out not to be the case, much to her relief. Right now she was sitting with Bobby at one of the tables, they both had drinks in front of them, they had already finished their food. There was an awkward pause; one of many Sam noticed had been cropping up around them.

Finally Bobby broke the silence. "So, 'ow's Freddie doin'?" He asked.

Sam shrugged. "He's fine."

Bobby nodded at her reply. "Good, ah'm glad."

Sam felt like she should say something else so she added. "He's staying over at Carly's now, can't say I blame him."

Bobby nodded, smiling slightly. "His mom?" He asked, he was sure he was right, but he needed confirmation.

Sam nodded. "Yup. She's trying to keep him and Carly apart." Sam shrugged, "Which is kind of hypocritical, since I heard her say at one point she wanted Freddie dating Carly rather than that Angela girl."

Bobby sighed. "Ah see. Well, she'll learn...She can' interfere."  
Sam nodded.

"Yeah, I hope so." She then smiled. "Well, we better pay and get outta here. I've gotta go, finally getting this off."

She gestured to the electronic tag on her ankle. Bobby smiled and agreed. They paid and left the diner.

Bobby decided to accompany Sam and so together they headed to the police station. Sam paused outside, shifting her feet awkwardly.

"Sam?" Bobby asked concerned as he turned to her.

She sighed and then explained. "I hate going in here; even if I've not done anything wrong."

Bobby looked even more confused so she explained.

"After all the bad stuff I've done in the past. Even when I've done nothing, I can't help but feel guilty walking in here."

Finally he seemed to realize and smiled. "Relax _cher_, ya done nothin' dis is good bein' 'ere dis time."

Sam finally managed a smile. "Yeah, you're right."

With that they both walked inside. Bobby agreed to wait in the entrance hall for her. Sam walked up to the desk and explained why she was here. She was led through to another room. While waiting Bobby saw one of the officers at the desk looking at him strangely.

"Wha' somethin' on my face?" He asked, confused.

The officer looked embarrassed at being caught but spoke firmly.

"You're friends with Samantha Puckett?" Bobby nodded. "I'd advise you to be careful, she's trouble that one."  
Bobby glared. "Ya shouldn't judge her 'cause of a few mistakes."

The officer merely shrugged and returned to work. Sam then returned; her electronic tag removed.

"Ready to go?" She asked Bobby.

He smiled and nodded and so they left; they decided to go and visit Carly and Freddie.

Meanwhile, Carly and Freddie were still in the apartment. They had just finished their lunch and were seated together on the sofa. Carly smiled as she rested her head on Freddie's shoulder. They watched the TV which was currently showing a show known as World's Dumbest; in this particular episode the focus was on criminals. After watching it for some time Freddie shook his head.

"You know, I really don't know what Sam sees in this show." He remarked.

Carly looked up at him and grinned. "It's people doing stupid and ridiculous things; what's not to like?"

Freddie laughed at that. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

They lapsed into silence and continued to watch the show. During a commercial break however Carly then decided to ask the question that was nagging him.

"You'll go back eventually won't you?" She asked. "Try and sort things out with your mom?"

Freddie sighed at that. "Maybe, I guess. I-I don't really know...I'll just wait and see."

Carly smiled and they hugged, Freddie then spoke again.

"I just, want her to see she can't keep us apart, that's all."

With that they kissed again, separating before Spencer caught them, and playfully chided them, this time.

Just as the episode ended, and they were waiting for the next one, there was a knock at the door.

"It's open." Carly called out.

Sam and Bobby came in, smiling.

"Hey guys." Sam greeted, "What's up?"

Carly smiled back. "Nothing much Sam, you guys wanna join us."

Bobby smiled. "Ah'd be glad to."

Sam paused for a moment. "What are we doing?"

Carly laughed. "What else, watching TV."

Sam brightened up immediately. "Then count me in."

They all sat on the sofa, just as another episode of World's Dumbest started. During the commercial break, while Freddie and Bobby decided to get snacks from the kitchen, Sam turned to Carly.

"So, you and Freddie are really...?"

Carly beamed. "Yup, if it wasn't for him, I'd be dead. He's a real hero...to me especially."

A strange look passed over Sam's face, however it then disappeared and she smiled again.

"Good for you Carls." She said softly.

At that moment Freddie and Bobby returned and they settled back in, enjoying the show.

* * *

End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.


	16. iDon't Understand

**iFeel a Change**

Next chapter of my iCarly story, enjoy.

**Reviews**

**Boris Yeltsin: Thanks, glad you enjoyed it.**

Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: iCarly belongs to Dan Schneider.

* * *

**iDon't Understand**

It had been three days since Sam's electronic tag was removed. Enjoying her new freedom she had spent the past three days with her friends, not worrying about restrictions. Bobby, Freddie and Carly were happy to see Sam free of her restrictions too, although they all agreed she should try and stay out of trouble this time. Sam promised nothing however. Right now the group was all heading into school; Carly walked beside Freddie, who was more skilful at manuvering with his crutches now. As they entered the school they heard the whispering. People stared as they went passed, watching Freddie. All of them looked amazed, some even proud. A lot of guys, most of whom had dismissed Freddie as a mere nerd before, even openly congratulated him on his heroic rescue of Carly. Sam then felt it again; something about that word 'hero' and her thoughts on Carly and Freddie's new relationship made her uneasy for some reason. It was then the girls started; it seemed Freddie's heroic rescue had caused some of the girls to become infatuated with him. Sam bit her lip, trying to stifle a laugh.

"So, Freddie." One of them said in what was supposed to be an alluring voice. "I'm free this Friday, if you wanna..."  
Carly stomped forwards. "He's not interested."

"Yeah right, Shay, get lost."

Freddie glared at the girls but then Carly seemed to get an idea. She whispered to Freddie who also smirked and then, right in front of everyone, they kissed.

There were gasps of shock and amazement, as well as some of despair from the girls, as they witnessed this. Finally however the crowd dispersed as Carly and Freddie parted for air. They were both smiling and Carly then spoke.

"I'll see you after school, okay." She said; a look of complete adoration in her eyes.

Freddie nodded in agreement and after another, shorter kiss, they all headed to class. Sam's mind was reeling with the implications of what she had witnessed both in the hall and in days past. She was certain now that something wasn't right; she was happy to see her friends in love, but, it wasn't as crystal clear as that. She was now certain that Carly loved Freddie for only one reason; his heroic actions. Sam sighed, she didn't want her friends to be hurt but they were going to be if they carried on with their current relationship. For it to truly work Carly needed to love Freddie as a person, not as a hero.

She turned towards Freddie as they headed for their first class. "Hey Freddie, I need to talk to you for a minute."

Freddie was surprised by her uncharacteristic seriousness. "What's wrong?"

"It's...It's about your relationship with Carly." Sam explained. "Please, just here me out."

Freddie had opened his mouth but then closed it and nodded.

Sam continued. "I'm just worried, you guys might be going a bit...too quickly, you kinda rushed into this relationship. Think about it, happened practically right after the accident, after your 'heroic rescue'."

Freddie immediately went quiet as he realized Sam was right.

"All I'm saying is, just think, maybe it's just the hero she's in love with." She paused and then added. "It would be better for both of you, if she loved you for yourself, okay."  
With that they arrived at class, Freddie lost in thought over Sam's words.

School had ended for the day; while he acted as he had been around Carly; his mind was constantly on what Sam had told him. Could she be right? He knew he loved Carly, always had. But was her returning his love simply a reaction to him being a hero. When the idea faded would she still feel the same? He wasn't completely certain; neither did he think it worth risking. However something seemed to click in his mind as he realized something. Her reactions had confused him before but now they made sense. He had to talk with his mother. So he entered the apartment and saw his mother busy as usual. She looked up and was surprised when she saw him.

"Freddie?"

"Mom, I...There's something I need to ask you." He replied, "But first, I think you should know..."

So he told her about what Sam had said and her explanations.

There was a brief silence before Freddie broke it. "This is what you saw, isn't it mom? You knew, but you didn't tell me, why?"

Marissa sighed. "I didn't want to hurt you Freddie. I know it was wrong, Sam probably saw that too. If you continue like this and the hero thing wears off...If Carly doesn't feel the same, you're going to be hurt even worse."

Freddie sighed and nodded.

"I understand, thanks mom, I now know what you meant."

"So, what are you going to do?" She asked.

Freddie sighed and turned to leave the apartment. "The only thing I can do, something I should do."

With that he left and headed to apartment 8C.

Meanwhile Sam had met up with Bobby and explained that his parents wanted to talk to her. Sam was nervous, remembering the last time but she agreed. So they walked, Sam however was preoccupied with something, Bobby noticed and decided to ask.

"_Cher,_ is dere somet'in' wrong?"

Sam sighed. "I just...it's about Carly and Freddie...their...relationship."

Bobby nodded as he realized. "Wha' is it?"  
So Sam told him about what she had noticed and what she had told Freddie.

"I just want them to be happy. Which is why I told him to try and be careful, take things slowly. One step at a time; rather than rushing in like they're doing."

Bobby nodded. "Ah can see wha' ya mean. Don' worry, ah'm sure it'll be a'right."

Sam nodded but she was still doubtful. Shortly afterwards they arrived at Bobby's home. Remy and Abby Duke were waiting for them; Sam was relieved to see they weren't glaring at her at least.

"Hi." She greeted, immediately feeling awkward.

Abby smiled wider. "Hey dere Sam. So, we 'eard ya're not wearin' dat dere bracelet anymore."

Sam smiled and nodded. "That's right." She replied; pulling up her pant leg slightly to show it was indeed gone.

She was relieved to see that the Duke's were at least more cordial, perhaps even friendly, now that there were no signs of her criminal past visible. She relaxed slightly and soon began talking with them, feeling greatly relieved.

Meanwhile Carly was in the iCarly studio, smiling happily to herself. She heard the sound of the lift door opening and turned, it was Freddie. She smiled wider as he came into the studio and kissed him.

"Hey..." She paused and noted his expression. "Is something wrong?"

Freddie sighed and shifted awkwardly. "Carly we...There's something we need to talk about."

Carly didn't like the sound of that; her nerves mounted rapidly. "Wh-what's wrong?"

Freddie came over to her and then spoke.

"Carly I...I think we should...slow things down, we're going too fast." He said; before she could protest he continued. "Think about it; I saved your life, you see me as a hero, but that's the image you've fallen in love.

Carly shook her head.

"It's you I've fallen in love with."  
Freddie smiled sadly. "No Carly, it's the hero, we don't even know if you love me...for myself, rather than for what I did. We need to give it time."

Carly felt the tears stinging her eyes but she refused to let them fall. "You...You're saying we should break up."

Freddie shook his head. "No, not break up, just...split up. If...once the casts are gone and I'm back to normal. Once the hero things wore off, if you still wanna be my girlfriend...I'd be pretty psyched about it."

There was an uncomfortable silence.

Finally Freddie broke.

"I really think this is for the best Carls; for both of us, it hurts now but if we kept going..." He paused and then took a deep breath and exhaled heavily. "If we kept going it would've hurt even worse."

Carly slowly nodded and then managed a small smile before kissing his cheek. Freddie hobbled back to the elevator and headed down. Carly threw herself down on the beanbag chair and let her tears fall, but deep down she felt Freddie was right. But why, why did it have to happen like this? Meanwhile, in the elevator Freddie shook his head and groaned as he then muttered to himself.

"What did I just do?"

* * *

End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.


	17. iCan't Stop This Feeling

**iFeel a Change**

Next chapter of my iCarly story, enjoy.

**Reviews**

**Boris Yeltsin: Yup, got that right.  
PD31: Yup, they certainly did. Well, there's still some issues that will need to be worked out. After all, Carly can't just magically stay in love with Freddie the whole time; it's going to take some soul searching and time before they sort everything out. Thanks, well, they just need to be patient, after all, no real relationship is without it's problems :)  
Sportsfan64: Thanks, glad you enjoyed it, yeah, it's tricky.**

Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: iCarly belongs to Dan Schneider.

* * *

**iCan't Stop This Feeling**

It had been a week since they had split up, a full week, Carly couldn't remember ever feeling so down. She had to keep reminding herself too that she and Freddie had 'split up' not break up, split up. She had to remind herself there was still a chance to mend, to get back together. There was something worse than all these troubles going on however.

"Hey Carly." The boy said with a smirk as he sidled up to her.

She groaned and rolled her eyes, this was the big problem. She hadn't realized how popular she and Freddie were with the opposite genders. As soon as news that they were 'back on the dating market' came out, practically every guy in school started asking her out. At the same time just about every girl in school started trying to ask Freddie out too. It was a constant irritation for her having to watch it happen, but know she couldn't really do anything to stop it. She wondered if Freddie felt the same way, relating to her and the boys. Throughout her musing the boy had been talking, asking her to go out with him. She glared sharply at him.

"No, I'm not going out with you." She snapped, "Or with anyone for that matter. What, you think I'm that shallow I'll just date someone for the rebound."

The boy frowned and then, muttering to himself, he left.

She sighed and walked to Freddie's locker; when she reached it she stopped. She suppressed an angry growl when she saw Freddie being solicited by a girl. Unlike the other girls however, this one made Carly's blood boil, it was clear that this girl was more desperate than the others. In the short time Carly had stood there Freddie had shot her down three times, yet still she wouldn't give in. Finally she couldn't take it anymore and stepped forwards.

"He's said no already, just leave him alone." She told the girl, fighting to keep her voice calm.

The girl glared at her. "Like it's any of your business. You..."

"Doesn't mean I'm not still his friend." Carly shot back.

Finally the girl backed down and left. Carly turned to a relieved looking Freddie.

"This is crazy." She complained; Freddie nodded his agreement. "I swear, at least half the guys in school have asked me out, I bet some of them still had girlfriends too."

Freddie sighed and shook his head. "Tell me about it, I've getting the same issues with the girls, some of them still having boyfriends."

Carly just groaned at that and helped Freddie carry his books as they headed to class.

The school day continued, with no real reprieve for Carly and Freddie. Watching all of this in dismay, Sam couldn't help but feel a strong surge of guilt. Sitting in the last class before lunch with Bobby, the teacher was late; she found herself fretting about what to do. Bobby had noticed her discomfort however and turned to her.

"Somethin' wrong Sam?" He asked; concern evident in his tone.

Sam lowered her head. "I just...don't believe this; you've seen what's been happening right...to Freddie and Carls?"

Bobby nodded, his expression darkening. "Ya, 'ow could ah not?"

"Well, there's something I've gotta tell you." Sam then added, seemingly almost frantic. "But you can't tell them, please."

"Okay, ah won'" He promised. "But wha's wrong?"

Sam inhaled shakily before breathing out and then speaking.

"This whole thing's my fault."

"Huh?"

She sighed and then explained about what she had told Freddie and how it had now led to him and Carly splitting up. This in turn had led to the current incident.

"You see, this is all my fault." Sam finished. "Maybe I should've phrased things differently."

Bobby nodded slowly and then added. "Or maybe Freddie jus' picked ya up wrong."

Sam looked at him surprised and he explained.

"Think about it, did ya outrigh' say de should split up?"

Sam shook her head and Bobby continued. "Exactly, Freddie picked ya up wrong."

Sam groaned. "Great, just great."

Finally the teacher arrived, but Sam couldn't get the nagging problem out of her mind.

Later school had just finished. As they were leaving the school Sam met up with Carly. Carly was still stressed out about the day, but that didn't stop her noticing her blonde friend's distress.

"Sam?"

Sam turned to Carly, there was something forced about her smile.

"Hey Carls." She greeted; sounding surprisingly awkward.

Carly sighed as a boy walking past, tried to flirt, she ignored him but then spoke to Sam.

"Ugh, this is getting seriously out of hand."

Sam nodded. "Tell me about it." Sam shifted her feet awkwardly and then finally blurted out. "Carls, there's something I've gotta tell you."

Carly was surprised by this. "What?" She asked, "What is it?"

Sam took a deep breath and then explained. "It's about you and Freddie and...What happened." She saw Carly looking confused and continued. "I'm the one who told him about the hero thing. I wanted him to realize that things were going too fast."

There was silence, Sam continued.

"I never thought he would take what I said to mean you guys should split up. I just...I wanted him to see the danger of what was happening and the pain it would cause."

More silence followed, during which Carly just stared at Sam. Sam waited anxiously, wondering why Carly hadn't spoken yet.

Finally Sam could take the strain of silence no longer.

"Carls, please, say something."

When Carly raised her gaze back to Sam, her face was livid with rage.

"How could you?" She growled, her voice shaking."

Sam actually stepped back, for the first time in her life; she was afraid, afraid of Carly.

"Carls I..."

She barely got the words out when Carly cut across her; her words spat out in fury. "This is all your fault!"

Suddenly Carly's hand lashed out and Sam stumbled back, Carly's slap having taken her by surprise and knocking her off balance. Carly was about to strike at Sam again when Gibby appeared and fought to restrain her.

"Easy Carly, c'mon." He grunted as he fought to keep her from attacking Sam again.

Carly growled. "Let me go Gibby!"

The boy shook his head. "Not happening."

"She made us split up!" Carly almost shrieked.

Sam shook her head; hearing it just made her feel worse. Almost in tears she desperately tried to plead with her.

"Carls, please I..."

However Carly then worked free and punched Sam, knocking her to the ground.

"Shut up." She growled. "I never want to see you again, I hate you!"

With that Carly stormed away, leaving Gibby and Shelby, who had just arrived, to help Sam back to her feet. Sam groaned; things had just gone from bad to worse.

* * *

End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.


	18. iHate You

**iFeel a Change**

Next chapter of my iCarly story, enjoy.

**Reviews**

**Boris Yeltsin: Yeah, got that right.**

Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: iCarly belongs to Dan Schneider.

* * *

**iHate You**

It had been two days since Carly had lost her temper at Sam. She was still fuming and refused to talk or even look at Sam. As a result of her anger she had banned Sam, once again, from coming to the apartment. Sam in return was rather upset by the incident but any attempt to talk to Carly was met with silence. Freddie once again found himself torn between his friendships with them. Due to what happened he was the only one able to let one know what the other was saying. Another problem had also arisen however.

"Carls, what about iCarly?" He asked her. Carly glared at him.

"Don't talk to me about iCarly Freddie." She snapped. "I'm not in the mood to deal with Sam right now. Also, don't forget you're still in casts."

Freddie nodded; she was right, it made it hard for him to use the camera. Finally he sighed and accepted her reasoning.

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

Carly suddenly became flirty as she smiled at him. "Freddie..."

He quickly cut across her. "No Carls, it's not been that long, besides, I'm still in casts as you said. I still stand by what I said."  
Carly looked a t him pleadingly. "Yeah, but..."

Freddie was insistent. "The casts are reminders of what happened. Just don't...please."

Carly sighed sadly. "Okay."

They headed home in awkward silence.

As Carly and Freddie left school Sam sat on the small wall near the entrance and watched them. She sighed sadly as they walked past; Freddie noticed her and gave her a sympathetic look. If Carly saw her, she pretended not to, ignoring Sam completely. Sam remained seated on the wall, head bowed. Some time later Bobby left the school and saw her. He walked over to her, confused.

"Sam?"

Sam looked up and saw him; it had been a while since they had last spoken.

"Hey." She greeted; Bobby heard the depression in her voice.

He sat down next to her; concerned. "Wha's wrong?"

Sam sighed and lifted her head to the sky; she bit her lip and then revealed.

"I...I told Carls about what I said to Freddie." She paused and then added, somewhat awkwardly. "She didn't take it too well."

Seeing her like this Bobby felt sorry for her and, without really thinking about it, pulled her into a comforting hug. Sam was surprised but didn't complain, then Bobby asked the dreaded question.

"Don' ya 'ave a place to go 'ome to?"

Sam inhaled shakily and then explained. "Y-yeah but...Well, I'm not putting it on for the show. My home really is like that."

Feeling suddenly guilty Bobby tightened the hug slightly before pulling back.

"Ah'm sorry, ya shouldn' 'ave to put up with dat?"

Sam smiled, relieved that at least Bobby was still willing to be with her.

Bobby sighed as he shook his head. He felt sad for Sam; for her to be stuck in this situation. Finally, not really knowing why, he made a decision; a risky one.

"Sam I...Dere's something ya should know." He said suddenly; she looked at him confused. "If ya wan' nothin' more to do wi' me after dis...Ah understand."

Before Sam could even ask what he meant he began to explain.

"Dere's a reason ma parents and I left New Orleans..." He paused, collected himself and then continued. "We were forced out...All 'cause o' ma uncle."

"Your uncle?"

Bobby nodded. "Yeah; ah trusted 'im, till ah found out da truth. 'E was a...White Supremacist and a KKK member, one of da wors'."

"What...no way...so, so he...?" Sam gasped, shocked at what she was hearing.

"Yeah; 'cause o' him, me, mom _et _pop were forced outta our 'ome."

"That's terrible." She replied softly, surprising him.

He stared at her. "Ya...Ya really don' mind, ya still wanna be friends wi' me?"

Sam smiled and nodded. "Yeah, I mean, you're nothing like him so; you shouldn't be judged because of him."

Bobby smiled back. "Thanks Sam; know, if ya don' wanna go 'ome yet...Ya could come round ma place."

Sam pondered for a moment, worried.

"Your parents?"

"Dey won' mind." He reassured her. "De'll be civil at least."

Sam smiled and agreed and so they both left, heading for Bobby's home.

They arrived and headed inside; they headed directly through to the living room.

"Mom _et _pop; Sam's 'ere." Bobby announced as they entered.

Remy and Abby turned and smiled.

"'Ey; good to see ya." Remy greeted happily.

Abby smiled; "So, to wha' do we owe da pleasure?" She asked cheerfully. "Shouldn' ya be 'ome Sam?"

Sam sighed, tried to speak, faltered and then Bobby took over.

"She can' go 'ome; least not yet." He paused and then explained. "Sam's not puttin' it on for da show; her 'ome life really is like dat."

Both Remy and Abby gasped when they heard this.

"My...dat's terrible." Abby said softly.

Sam nodded. "It gets worse..." She then went on to explain about the incident with Carly and how she was now stuck as she couldn't hide over at Carly's anymore.

There was an awkward silence and then Remy sighed.

"Oh dear, that is terrible."

Abby nodded. "Ah can't say ah completely disagree wi' Carly. Bu' ah think she's taken dis too far."

Sam nodded slowly, understanding where Abby was coming from.

Sam groaned. "But, she won't listen to me, no matter what I try to do or say...I just wanna make it up to her."

The Dukes nodded in understanding before Bobby tried to reassure her.

"Ah'm sure she'll come roun' eventually. Jus' give 'er time."

Sam managed a small smile and nodded. "I hope you're right."

With that she and Bobby settled in to watch TV.

Sometime later, as Sam was getting ready to leave and head home, she turned to Bobby.

"Thanks for this." She said; genuinely.

Bobby smiled back and nodded. "Don' mention it; is fine."

She smiled and hugged him before leaving and walking home. On the way she thought to herself.

'_I am, more or less, to blame for what happened.'_ She pondered, her thoughts dwelling on Carly and Freddie and what happened to their relationship. _'But I've accepted that; it's my fault; but how can I make Carls listen to me? How can I get her to understand that I'm truly sorry for what I did?'_

She finally reached home; she slipped in carefully. Luckily her mother was asleep so she was able to sneak to her room no problem. Once in bed she sighed quietly to herself.

'_I'll prove it to Carly.'_ She decided finally. _'I don't care what I have to do, or if she keeps pushing me away. I'll do whatever it takes to prove to her that I'm sorry.'_

So, with that determined thought in mind Sam allowed herself to slip off to sleep. She was determined to carry out her decision tomorrow; either before or after school; it would offer her more time than if she tried to do it during school hours.

* * *

End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.


	19. iReconcile

**iFeel a Change**

Next chapter of my iCarly story, enjoy.

**Reviews**

**Boris Yeltsin: Yup, all we can do is wait.**

Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: iCarly belongs to Dan Schneider.

* * *

**iReconcile**

A week had passed, and still Sam had been unable to find any opportunity to speak to Carly to try and sort things out. However she was not discouraged; she kept trying. Carly meanwhile had trouble of her own. Sam had tried to talk to her that morning; but Carly was still angry and brushed her off.

'_But she just wouldn't leave me alone.'_ She thought angrily. _'Now, thanks to Sam I've ended up late for class and now I've got detention.'_

Carly sat sullenly in class; glaring at her notebook as the lesson began. It just wasn't fair; she had ended up in trouble and got detention; despite the whole incident being Sam's fault.

'_Even if Sam gets detention too it won't faze her, she's had it so many times she doesn't care anymore.'_ Carly's thoughts turned bitter. _'Why can't she just leave it? Does she really think she can undo what she's done? How could I possibly forgive her for that?'_

As she thought that another feeling poked through the anger; shame. Was she being too harsh? What if she was wrong? What if Freddie has the right idea, or even more surprising, what if Sam had been right and Freddie just picked things up wrong. She bit her lip and wondered.

"Carly Shay, pay attention." The teacher called out suddenly; startling her.

Carly groaned; she had just earned herself even longer in detention now, she focused carefully for the rest of the lesson.

After class Carly headed for her next class; still deep in thought. She spotted Sam but carefully avoided her; she wasn't ready to face Sam yet, not after her unsettling thoughts. As she walked however a boy appeared next to her grinning. She glared, she knew what was coming.

"Save it, I'm not interested." She snapped; before the boy could react she stormed ahead.

She shook her head as she continued to walk to her next class.

Her thoughts were angry again. _'Ugh, these pigs, everyone of them, some of them still have girlfriends for god sake.'_

She growled and hurried onwards and soon reached her next class. Class began and she worked, until Freddie came in on his crutches. He took his seat and she managed a small smile, before the awkwardness started again. She felt it keenly and it made her uncomfortable. She lowered her eyes back to her work and did her best to focus on her work. Things had been that way lately, she found herself unable to focus or even talk properly around Freddie. Right now, until they were both certain of their feelings, she wanted to at least continue being friends with him. But things were so awkward between them now that she was afraid they wouldn't be able to do even that. Eventually the day was over and Carly trudged, reluctantly to detention.

Detention had finally ended; Carly groaned as she left the school. It was getting late and she knew she had no choice but to walk home. She didn't want to call up Spencer and so she walked out of the school yard and headed home. She rolled her eyes as she walked on.

'_Ugh, unreal. Sam makes me late for class and I get detention that lasts so long I just wanted to scream.'_

She continued to head home; mentally cursing Sam and, more fervently, those creeps that kept hitting on her. Unbeknownst to her however, three of the boys she had rejected hadn't taken things kindly. They had banded together and decided to get what they wanted, even if Carly wasn't willing to give it to them. The leader of the group, Brad turned to the others; John and James and smiled.

"This is it." He stated, "You guys ready?"

They both nodded and began to sneak up on Carly. They smirked as they saw she was approaching a nearby dark alleyway.

Bran signalled to the others. "This is it, get ready, as soon as she's near the alley we'll get her inside and get to work."

The others smirked widely and they saw Carly get close to the alley, they immediately made their move.

Carly wasn't expecting a thing when suddenly she felt a group of people grab her and roughly dragged her into the alley next to her.

"Hey…" She began to yell when suddenly a strong hand clamped tightly over her mouth, muffling her words.

Once they were far enough down the alley the boys stopped.

Brad smirked widely. "Hey Carly, so, remember us?"  
Her eyes widened in fear as she realized who they were. She felt her hands get forced behind her back; and she heard the ripping sound of duct tape as it was wrapped tightly around her wrists. As soon as her hands were bound the hand came off her mouth accompanied with another tape ripping noise.

Carly felt her fear mounting. "No, stop ple-MMMMMMMMMMM!"

Her pleas went unheeded and she screamed as her mouth was taped shut. She struggled desperately but she couldn't get free. Suddenly she realized that the boys had taken advantage of her struggles to pull her jeans down and unbutton her shirt. She blushed in shame and whimpered in fear as her light pink panties and matching bra were exposed. They soon began groping at her butt, breasts and even her legs. She closed her eyes, praying it would end quickly.

"MMMMMMM!" She cried out when suddenly she heard an unexpected voice.

"HEY, GET OFF HER!"

Carly started as the boys looked at the mouth of the alley. Standing there was none other than Sam.

Sam glared at the three boys and stepped forwards.

"Let her go, now, or I'll hurt you…I mean it." Sam snarled viciously, but Brad simply laughed.

"You, hurt me, yeah right." He shook his head. "I don't care what anyone says, Puckett. No way is a shrimp like you any sorta threat."  
Sam smirked and Carly noticed that Sam had one of her hands behind her back. "Try me." She taunted.

Brad laughed. "Fine, you guys take Carly, I'll deal with Puckett."

Brad approached Sam as John and James continued to grope Carly. Brad came close and Sam acted. Bringing her hand out from behind her back and smacking Bran in the groin with her infamous butter sock. He shrieked in pain and John and James dropped Carly in shock.

Sam turned and glared at them. "You want some to?!"  
Rather than challenge her; the trio, Brad whimpering in pain, fled and Sam hurried over and removed the tape from Carly's mouth and wrists, freeing her. Carly quickly fixed her clothes and the two of them left the alleyway. Carly was gasping for breath; shaking and perspiring. She turned to Sam, her eyes shining.

"Sam...What are you doing here?" She stammered.

Sam shrugged. "Mom threw me out again, what about you, are you okay?"

Carly nodded slowly before finally choking out. "What kind of friend am I?"

She threw her arms around Sam and wept openly. Sam was surprised by this.

Carly finally calmed down enough to speak.

"I treated you like dirt; I overreacted and look at what happened…What might have happened." She looked Sam in the eyes. "Will you ever forgive me?"

Sam smiled. "Yes, of course, what about you…Will you forgive me?"  
"Of course." Carly stated, relieved. "Let's go, you can stay at my house tonight."

Sam smiled and nodded gratefully. So together the two girls headed to apartment 8C, finally reconciled.

* * *

End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.


	20. iFeel Awkward

**iFeel a Change**

Next chapter of my iCarly story, enjoy.

**Reviews**

**Boris Yeltsin: Yup, it's over now :)  
PD31: Yup, she just made it; well, read on and see what happens :)**

Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: iCarly belongs to Dan Schneider.

* * *

**iFeel Awkward**

It had been two whole days since Sam and Carly had reconciled. The girl's friendship had not only been renewed, it was strengthened now. Especially since they soon discovered they were having similar problems; guy problems. Sam was the first to notice Carly's distress.

"Carls, is something wrong?" She asked as they sat together on the sofa in apartment 8C.

Carly sighed. "Same problem as usual Sam."

Sam sighed; once again feeling guilty.

"Still not getting anywhere with Freddie huh?"

Carly nodded sadly and then explained. "I mean, he's out of his crutches and casts now but…He's not convinced about my feelings. He still thinks the same way; mostly because he's still wearing a back brace."

Carly paused and then sighed. "Even without all that, it's just so awkward for us, just being in same room."

Sam sighed and nodded. "Wow, that sucks."  
"Tell me about it." Carly groaned. She then noticed something. "Sam, what's wrong with you, you look kinda distracted too."

Sam shook her head vehemently and Carly was surprised to see her friend blushing.

"It…It's nothing."

Carly was confused by this. "Sam…please, tell me."

Sam sighed and gave in. "Don't laugh okay." She said and Carly was surprised to see she was embarrassed.

"I think…I think; I'm in love…with Bobby."

Sam's face went scarlet as she bowed her head, finally admitted the truth.

Carly couldn't help but smile.

"That's great Sam." She remarked happily.

Sam however looked at her incredulous. "Great, what am I supposed to do…I can't, I can't tell him."

Carly felt concerned for Sam, noting her distress.

"What's the problem?" She asked carefully. Sam sighed and then told Carly about her problems.

"Every time I try to even think about telling him…I…I freeze up." Sam shook her head and then her voice turned pleading. "Please Carls, help me."

Carly sighed and nodded. "I, I'll try. But, I'm not sure how much I can help you."

"He's a great guy, how do I tell him?" Sam remarked sadly.

Carly pondered for a moment and then smiled. "Listen Sam, the best advice I can give is this, be true to yourself and your feelings. Start with that, okay?"

Sam smiled. "Thanks Carls, well…Bobby and I did decide to go for dinner tonight, at that new seafood restaurant. Maybe I'll manage it there."

"That's great." Carly said enthusiastically. Sam smiled back.

"Okay then, wish me luck when the time comes, okay."

"You'll be fine." Carly reassured her."

Sam nodded and with Carly's help she began to get ready for their dinner tonight. As they got ready Sam did her best to calm the sudden nerves which built up within her.

Meanwhile, unbeknownst to the girls, Freddie and Bobby were having a similar conversation. Bobby seemed tense as he sat; staring at his drink, but not even taking a sip. Finally Freddie spoke up, wondering what was on his friend's mind.

"Bobby, what's wrong, you seem to be…lost in thought."

Bobby jumped slightly, startled. He then sighed and nodded.

"It…It's Sam." He replied.

"What about her?"

Bobby then confessed. "Ah think ah love 'er."

"What, seriously?" Freddie exclaimed. Bobby seemed surprised by this.

"Wha?"

"Are you serious?" Freddie asked, calmer.

Bobby nodded. "Yeah, ah am."  
"Wow." Freddie replied; he hadn't seen this coming.

Bobby sighed. "Ah jus' don' know what say to 'er."

Freddie sighed, seeing where this was going. But things were still to awkward between him and Carly, there was nothing he could currently do to help.

"I'm sorry, I…I don't know what to tell you." He replied.

Bobby smiled lightly and nodded. "Ah see, Ah understand. Sorry to trouble ya wi dis."

Freddie shook his head. "It's fine, look, you've got plans right; just see how things go."

Bobby nodded, Freddie was right. So, after finishing his drink he said goodbye to Freddie and headed home, getting ready for dinner. He asked Sam to join him when they heard about the new restaurant and she had agreed. Now he could only hope that things went well, that he could finally tell Sam the truth.

Later that night Bobby picked Sam up from Carly's apartment and they headed to the new restaurant. They didn't speak much; awkwardness hung heavy in the air. Both were lost in thought, wondering how to explain the truth of their feelings to the other. They arrived and entered the restaurant; they were shown to their seats and ordered their drinks before consulting the menu and making their orders from that. They sat in awkward silence. The awkwardness continued even as they ate. Finally to break the silence Bobby tried desperately to say something.

"Good food?" He said, it was all he could think.

Sam looked up; she seemed to realize what he was doing and replied, just as casually. "Yeah."  
Finally Bobby tried again. "So, um…how's, how's things goin', got anythin' planned for da next iCarly?"

Sam shook her head.

"No idea yet."

Bobby just nodded; watching Sam as she ate, smiling.

'_She's so beautiful…But wha' would she wan' wi' someone like me?'_ He thought sadly; thinking that his feelings were one sided.

"Bobby, you okay?" Sam asked suddenly, "You were kinda spacing out there."

"Oh, ah'm fine." He said quickly.

He was unaware however that Sam was also taking in his appearance and trying desperately to hide the blush on her face. She wanted so desperately to tell him the truth, but the words wouldn't come.

'_Spit it out.'_ She thought angrily to herself but still nothing came.

In the end neither was able to admit their feelings. Bobby paid for the meal and drove her back to Carly's before heading home himself.

When Sam returned Carly noticed that she seemed downcast and worried for her friend.

"Sam." Sam looked up at her. "You okay?"  
Sam sighed sadly. "I couldn't tell him Carls, I tried, I really tried."

Carly nodded sympathetically.

"Don't worry Sam, we'll figure something out. I'll help you." Carly said finally.

Sam smiled gratefully.

"Thanks Carls, in return, I'll see what I can do to at least help you and Freddie be more relaxed around other."

Carly smiled, grateful for that and agreed.

* * *

End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it; read and review please.


	21. iDon't Mind

**iFeel a Change**

Next chapter of my iCarly story, enjoy.

**Reviews**

**Boris Yeltsin: Yup, oh well, they can always try again :)**

Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: iCarly belongs to Dan Schneider.

* * *

**iDon't Mind**

Bobby sighed as he walked to the spot where Sam had asked to meet him. He was preparing himself, mentally, to try again to confess his feelings for her. As he was walking however he didn't see someone in front of him and accidently walked into the woman. He stumbled back as the woman cursed, turning to face him.

"Oh, sorry ma'am." He mumbled.

The woman glared at him. "Just who do you…oh wait, I know you, Sam told me about you."  
Bobby was surprised by this.

"Have ya now…Who are ya?"

"Her mother." The woman stated sharply.

Realization dawned on Bobby; he had heard of Pam Puckett and her reputation.

"Oh, well she's tol' me 'bout ya too."

Pam immediately glared darkly. "What has she said?"

"Nothin' ah care ta repeat; simple as dat." Bobby replied defiantly.

Pam glared at him, but at that moment Sam appeared; it was clear she was anxious to leave.

"Mom, c'mon, we've gotta…" She stopped when she saw Bobby; a brief look of fear being replaced by one of resignation. "Hey Bobby."

"Sam." Bobby returned her greeting; cheerful but wary of Pam.

Pam looked at both of them, her eyes narrowed.

"Care to explain how you know this boy Sam?" She asked sharply.

Sam sighed and explained about Bobby and his family; at Bobby's silent urging, she included the full details; especially about why they had fled New Orleans. Bobby felt that anything less than the whole truth would be pointless; Pam would find out anyway.

However Bobby was not expecting Pam's reaction to be as strong as it was.

"What!?" She shrieked, exploding with rage.

She suddenly grabbed Sam, pushing her up against the wall.

"How dare you!" She screamed. "How dare you even look at someone like him?!"

Sam shook her head vehemently. "He's nothing like his uncle." She claimed; sticking up for Bobby.

Pam growled. "That's not the point."

Then suddenly, without warning, she raised her hand and slapped Sam across the face before storming off. Bobby hurried over to Sam and helped her up.

"Sam?"

She rubbed her stinging cheek and smiled. "I'm alright."

Bobby shook his head.

"Can't believe she did dat."  
"Could've been worse, usually is." Sam replied, shrugging nonchalantly.

Bobby was horrified by this revelation. "Wha?"

Sam sighed. "Welcome to my life; now you know why I spend so much time at Carly's."  
Then, surprising her Bobby pulled her into a comforting hug.

"Ah'm sorry; ya shouldn' 'ave to put up wi' dat." He said sadly. "Ya deserve so much better."

"Bobby I…" Sam began but then suddenly kissed him.

After the initial surprise Bobby returned the kiss. Finally they separated for air and Sam blushed.

"I…I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me…I…" She stammered before stopping. She had noticed that Bobby was smiling. "What's with that?"  
"Ya don' need ta apologize." He stated. "Ya realize ah kissed ya back."

Sam was shocked by this; she realized it was true.

Sam fought for words before finally unsticking her throat.

"But why would you…"

Bobby finally admitted the truth. "Ah love ya Sam. Ah have for some time now."

"I've felt the same way." Sam admitted; she sighed heavily however. "I'm just worried how Carly's gonna take it."

This confused Bobby. "Carly?"

"She's still not over Freddie; I said I'd help her." Sam paused and then added. "I'm worried that she's gonna think I abandoned her."

Bobby nodded in understanding.

"Ah see, maybe we should talk wi' 'er."

Sam agreed and together they headed to Carly's house. Holding hands, their fingers entwined. Carly smiled when she saw them come in.

"Hey you guys." She greeted happily.

She stopped however when she saw the red handprint on her friend's cheek. "Your mom?" Sam nodded and Carly groaned. "What is wrong with that woman?"  
Bobby sighed. "She's got a problem with me; ma family."

They explained the whole story to Carly who shook her head by the end.

"How do you cope with her, Sam?" She asked sadly.

Sam sighed and lowered her head. "I don't know, sometimes I just can't."

Carly noted their linked hands and smiled. "So, are you guys dating now?"

Sam and Bobby looked at each other and knew it was now or never.

They nodded.

"Don't be mad Carls, but yes." She finally admitted.

Carly smiled widely. "Mad? How could I be mad? I'm happy for you Sam."

Sam and Bobby were relieved by this and then Carly asked if they had planned their first date yet.

"There's a new movie out; we were thinking about going to see that then go out and eat." Sam explained. Bobby nodded; they had planned this all out as they walked to Carly's apartment.

Carly smiled; liking the idea. After kissing Sam; Bobby left to get ready, Sam turned to Carly who began helping her friend get ready for the date. At home Bobby saw his parents and smiled. They smiled back and then finally Bobby explained about the incident that had just occurred. Abby sighed.

"Ah knew mentionin' my brother in law would get us in trouble." She said sadly.

Bobby smiled happily. "Sam doesn't care 'bout all dat though." He explained.

"At least someone doesn't." Remy stated relieved. "So, wha's got ya all excited?"  
"Sam and I are…We're datin' now."

Abby stared wide-eyed at her son. "Wha'? Jus' when were ya gonna tell us dis?"

He explained about what happened and then, following his parent's satisfaction, he got himself ready and headed to Carly's apartment to pick up Sam. When he arrived he found Sam waiting for him, looking rather nice in a light blue dress. He smiled and they kissed before heading out for the movie theatre.

Some time later they exited the movie theatre; smiling happily; once again holding hands.

"What'd ya think?" Bobby asked.

Sam smiled widely at him. "It was great Bobby, thanks for this."  
Bobby smiled and kissed her chastely as they then headed to their next destination, the restaurant. They ate their meal, enjoying each other's company.

'_This is amazing.'_ Sam thought happily. _'I've never felt so happy before and it's all thanks to Bobby.'_

Once they were done eating Bobby took her back to Carly's apartment; they kissed one more time before Bobby headed home and Sam headed into the apartment. She felt light-headed and happier than ever and she knew that what she and Bobby had was special. She just hoped it would last for a long time; at the same time she prayed that things would be resolved between Carly and Freddie. She knew she had to do something to help, the only question was what, especially to get them past the awkwardness and help them at least be friends again.

* * *

End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.


	22. iWill Avoid Mistletoe

**iFeel a Change**

Next chapter of my iCarly chapter, enjoy.

**Reviews**

**Boris Yeltsin: Thanks, glad you enjoyed it :)**

Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: iCarly belongs to Dan Schneider.

* * *

**iWill Avoid Mistletoe**

Following Sam and Bobby's realization of their love they grew closer than ever. It was now December and everyone was getting ready for Christmas. Things were still awkward between Carly and Freddie, yet it varying, some days were easier than others for them to hang out. Other days they couldn't be in the same room without feeling the others person strongly. They were sitting in the living room, finally Carly attempted to make some conversation.

"So...You got everything you need for Christmas?" She asked.

Freddie gave a small smile. "Yeah; you?"

She nodded in response, just then the phone rang. Carly went to answer it; she seemed surprised and cheerful. She spoke on the phone for some time and then hung up. She then turned to Freddie and Spencer, who were both waiting to hear about the call.

Carly smiled. "It was Annie Summers. She's invited all of us around to her place for Christmas dinner."

"Whoa." Freddie replied, surprised by this.

Spencer smiled widely. "So, what do you think, should we go over?"

"Of course." Carly replied immediately. "I'll be great to see them again, especially Paige and Rachel."

Freddie nodded his agreement. "Sam and Bobby will wanna come to."

Carly then realized something. "Yeah, they'll wanna meet Bobby; Paige is the only one who actually met him, Rachel saw him a few times but; only a few."

Sam and Bobby chose that exact moment to arrive and soon they were making their plans to meet with the Summers family for Christmas dinner.

Soon it was Christmas day; following a morning spent exchanging gifts and wishing each other Merry Christmas they were soon all ready. Finally they arrived; just outside the Summers house. When they entered they were greeted by the family. They all looked happy and were dressed their best; even Rachel looked amazing and smiled when she saw Carly and Freddie.

"Cawly-mama, Dee-dada!" She cried as she waved at them.

They both smiled and gently took her hands. Carly looked up and smiled.

"Thanks for inviting us." She said happily.

Annie smiled. "It's no trouble." She stated happily.

Paige smiled at everyone. "Hey you guys, it's good to see you again."

They all smiled back and nodded; Carly noted Paige's dress.

"Wow Paige, you look great." She said truthfully, "That dress looks really nice."  
Paige's smile became a grimace however and shifted slightly uncomfortably. "Yeah, I hate it though. Don't like wearing dresses."

Carly smiled at that; noting that like Sam, Paige was clearly a tomboy. Soon everybody was settled in and enjoying themselves. Meanwhile Bobby was talking to John and Annie, getting to know them.

"So, you're dating Sam?" John asked him.

Bobby smiled and nodded. "Dat's right."

"Well, good on you, Sam's a great girl." He said.

Annie nodded in agreement. "Yes; it's also good for her; I've never seen her look so happy."

Annie suddenly sighed and turned to her eldest daughter. "Paige, please stop fidgeting."

"Mom, you know I hate this dress." Paige moaned.

Both Jon and Annie sighed and those watching had a feeling that this was a regular occurrence.

John looked at his daughter pleadingly.

"C'mon Paige, please." He said. "You wanna look nice for Josh, don't you?"

"N-no." Paige replied suddenly. "You know I hate wearing dresses."

Carly sighed quietly; realizing that this was clearly another attempt by Annie to get Paige to be more ladylike, another failed attempt by the look of it. However something else bothered her, confused her.

"You can't spend Christmas in jeans and a T-shirt." Annie stated; Paige pouted.

Just then there was a knock at the door, Annie jumped up. "Oh, he's here."

"Wait, Josh?" Carly asked, confused.

Annie left the room and Paige sighed and explained. "My uncle."

Carly nodded, understanding now who Josh was. However she was surprised at the strange behaviour Paige seemed to be exhibiting. At that moment Annie entered with a man, the same age as John. He was tall with short black hair; black eyes and a short beard and moustache. He looked like a recently powerfully built man gone to seed. H was still quite muscular, but his look of strength was ruined by the slight beer belly that had formed. More time had passed; the family had enjoyed dinner, although Carly noted that Paige seemed to be uncomfortable; plus Freddie seemed to be glaring at Josh, as if he didn't quite trust the man.

After dinner everybody seemed to relaxed and having a good time. Bobby however noticed something.

"Whoa, Sam, careful wi' dat stuff." He said as Sam knocked back her third glass of eggnog.

Sam shrugged. "I love it."

Bobby rolled his eyes, groaning as Sam went for a fourth glass. At the same time Josh turned to Paige and smiled; Paige suppressed a shudder as he spoke.

"You look nice Paige." He said; almost relaxed.

Paige sighed. "Thanks...I guess."

"Paige, your uncle is giving you a compliment." John scolded, angrily. "Be nice."

Paige bowed her head. "Sorry."

Freddie noticed Paige's discomfort and called out. "Hey Paige, wanna join me and Carly with Rach."

Paige brightened up immediately. "Okay." She replied enthusiastically and hurried over to them.

Josh looked at Freddie carefully; he pursed his lips. "And you are?" He asked politely.

"Freddie Benson; I'm here with Carly Shay, her brother Spencer, Sam Puckett and Bobby Duke." He explained as he indicated each of them.

"They're on iCarly." Paige explained and Josh nodded in understanding.

Carly and Freddie were currently playing with Rachel; who was smiling and laughing with them. Paige joined them and Rachel smiled wider.

"Paige!" She cried out. Paige gasped.

"Wow, that's, that's the first time she's said my name."

Carly and Freddie watched happily as Paige hugged her baby sister.

Some time later the Christmas party was winding down. Bobby was helping Sam to the bathroom; getting her there just in time.

"Oh god." Sam moaned as she threw up.

Paige giggled as she saw the incident and shook her head. "Six glasses of eggnog." She remarked as Sam groaned again.

Josh smiled as he stood up. "Well I'll be going now." He smiled over at Paige. "C'mon Paige, what no hug for your uncle?"

Paige bit her lip and hugged him before he left. She still looked uncomfortable until they heard the car drive away. Then she relaxed and smiled again. Carly and the others left; as they did Carly turned to the others.

"Something seemed a little off with Paige today." She said, worried, "Did you guys notice?"

They all nodded.

Freddie scowled. "I don't like that Josh guy; she seemed fine until he came over." He stated angrily.

Carly sighed and nodded slowly. Finally they arrived home, Carly helped Sam to bed and got ready for bed herself, Freddie returned to his apartment while Spencer dropped Bobby off home before heading home himself. Apart from Paige's discomfort they were all sure of one thing; it had been a very good Christmas.

* * *

End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.


	23. iDouble Date

**iFeel a Change**

Next chapter of my iCarly story, enjoy.

**Reviews**

**Boris Yeltsin: Yeah, but she's hiding it.**

Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: iCarly belongs to Dan Schneider.

* * *

**iDouble Date**

Freddie sighed and tried to concentrate. He was at the AV club and was currently working away; however his attention was distracted by thoughts of Carly.

'_Why are things still so awkward between us?'_ He thought wistfully. _'I know we split up but, I hoped we would still be friends. But things are too awkward for us to even be in the same room now.'_

He shifted uncomfortably; while it was necessary he hated wearing the back brace. Suddenly a spark caught his attention; he looked up but it was nothing serious and was back under control. He observed the people working next to him. Two of his friends from the AV club; Alan Franklin and Joyce Jane. Alan was of average height with short brown hair and brown eyes; wore glasses and, despite his name, was of no relation to the Principal. Joyce was roughly the same height as Alan; with shoulder length black hair, blue eyes and a slim build. While they were never openly affectionate in public, it was common knowledge the two were dating. They seemed to be talking in low voices and Freddie; not wanting them to risk another accident, decided to get their attention.

"What are you guys talking about?" He asked.

Like he hoped they stopped working all together and turned to talk to him.

They smiled and Alan spoke first.

"Hey Freddie, we were just talking about that new restaurant that's opened up." He explained, "You know, the one that serves food from all around the world?"

Freddie smiled and nodded, he had heard about the place.

Joyce laughed. "Yeah, we were gonna go there on a date but because somebody..." She pointedly looked at Alan who smirked. "Accidentally ordered an extra couple of reservations, we need someone to go with us."

Alan seemed to brighten up as if he had an idea. "Hey I know, why don't you come with us?"

Freddie blinked, surprised. "But hold on, you said two reservations, I don't have anyone to bring."

Joyce pondered for a moment before smiling.

"Why not bring Carly?" Seeing Freddie's look she shook her head. "I don't mean, as in a date, just as friends, you know?"

Freddie sighed; he knew he couldn't refuse them, not with those expressions on their faces. So he gave in and said he'd ask Carly. That afternoon, while walking home with Carly he tried and failed several times to ask her. Finally Carly noticed his preoccupation.

"Freddie, what's wrong?" She asked in a tone that indicated she felt as awkward as he did.

"Well, it's like this..." He told her about Alan and Joyce and their offer, hastily adding at the end. "If we go, it can be as just friends, I mean..."

Carly was speechless but she nodded and managed to find her voice. "I...That's great, we best go get ready then, I'll be happy to come along, as a friend."

Freddie nodded and they headed home to get ready.

While they said they only intended to go as friends they had both dress subconsciously hoping to impress the other. Carly had chosen a mid-thigh length black dress with a halter neck that also exposed her upper back and a pair of black mini heels. Freddie was dressed in a good black suit with an electric blue shirt and tie. They both ended up leaving their apartments at the same time and nearly ran into each other.

"Oh uh, hey." They both stammered at the same time, before taking in each other's appearance and talking at once again. "You look nice."

They both blushed furiously but managed to smile and, doing their best to ignore the awkwardness, headed for the restaurant. When they arrived they found Alan and Joyce waiting for them. Smiling and laughing together Carly envied them.

'_Must be nice to not have any confusion or concerns about your relationship.'_ She thought sadly as Joyce looked up.

"Carly, Freddie, you made it." She called out joyfully. She looked them up and down. "Wow, you guys look amazing."

Carly did her best to suppress a growl when Joyce looked over Freddie. Alan came along and did the same.  
"Yeah; real nice." He said softly.

Freddie's lips tightened but he said nothing; so they entered the restaurant and took their seats. They soon gave their orders; Alan ordering a Greek meal and Joyce an Italian one; Freddie and Carly, to their embarrassment, both ordered the same thing. Alan and Joyce smirked at that. Their meal passed in relative silence; with Alan and Joyce watching the other two carefully between bites. Both were hyper aware of each other and felt the tension palpably.

Finally Joyce smirked.

"So Carly, can I ask, you and Freddie are good friends right?"

Carly nodded. "Yeah, that's right."

"If that's all..." She paused for effect before continuing. "What was with the growl you gave me when I said he looked amazing?"

Carly's eyes widened like a deer in car headlights. "What, I didn't I..."

Joyce smirked wider. "Yes you did."

Alan laughed. "You did Carly, and when I complimented you; Freddie looked like he wanted to slug me one."

Freddie went bright red and started stammered. Carly was sure her face was just as red. She felt the need to make a quick exit, but sadly she was seated between the wall and Freddie.

"Freddie, I need to get out to the bathroom." Freddie obliged and let her out.

Carly hurried to the bathroom, unaware that Joyce had stood up and followed her. Carly immediately hurried to the sinks and splashed cool water on her face.

'_God, I can't believe they're doing this.'_ She thought desperately. _'Why are they embarrassing us like this?'_

"Carly."

She spun around, Joyce stepped closer; her expression was different. It was less playful, more serious. Carly gulped.

"Um, hey Joyce, I uh..."

"What's wrong?" She asked.

Carly continued stammering. "Nothing, just a little flustered I guess."

Joyce's look said it all, she didn't believe it.

Finally Carly sighed; she realized now that Alan and Joyce had been hatching some plan that was just now in the works.

"Why are you doing this?" She asked. "You guys arranged this on purpose; embarrassing Freddie and me like this; don't you know how hard it is between us at the moment."

"Actually, we do." Joyce stated sharply. "You guys wanna be friends again, but you keep letting your previous relationship get in the way. You guys have to be yourselves again and you need to look past Freddie the ex-boyfriend and see Freddie the best friend again."

Carly was about to complain but stopped; Joyce was right; this whole incident had been what they had needed, a good slap in the face, a wakeup call, whatever they could call it; it worked. Calming down she smiled.

"I'm sorry Joyce; I didn't mean to snap like that. Thank you."

Joyce nodded and together they left the bathroom. Meanwhile it was clear Alan had been having a similar conversation with Freddie. When Freddie looked up he smiled at Carly, noting her damp fringe.

"Fall in the sink Carly?" He joked in the manner he used to before all the confusion had started.

Carly laughed. "No, of course not; here, let me sit down."

So she resumed her seat and they finally finished their meal.

After finishing their meal the couple parted ways from Freddie and Carly and they headed for home. Both relieved that, while they still hadn't exactly fixed their relationship, they were at least comfortable around each other and could be friends again.

* * *

End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.


	24. iBabysit

**iFeel a Change**

Next chapter of my iCarly story, enjoy.

**Reviews**

**Boris Yeltsin: Thanks, glad you enjoyed it, yup, things are getting better for them.**

Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: iCarly belongs to Dan Schneider.

* * *

**iBabysit**

Carly smiled to herself as she watched TV. It had been some time since the incident in the restaurant. Freddie was still in his back brace; so obviously there were still signs of his heroic deed. However they had definitely cut through all the awkwardness and they were good friends again. Her thoughts were broken however by the phone ringing; she quickly answered it.

"Hello?" She said; wondering who it was.

"Carly." The female voice replied. "It's me, Annie Summers."  
Carly smiled as she recognized the voice. "Hi Annie." She greeted cheerfully. "What's up?"

"Nothing much; we're all doing great." Annie explained before then asking the question which was her reason for calling. "Carly; John and I are going out tonight. I was hoping you could babysit Paige and Rachel for us?"

Carly smiled at that. It was March now; the last time she had physically seen the girls was Christmas. "I'd love to, thanks; I'll be along tonight."  
"Thank you." Annie replied joyfully. "I'll let the girls know, they'll be delighted."

They hung up and Carly prepared to get ready. Meanwhile Annie headed through to the living room where Paige was changing Rachel's diaper.

"Hey girls." She greeted; Paige smiled happily and Rachel laughed and waved at her mother. "As you know, Dad and I are going out; I've been on the phone and Carly's agreed to come over and babysit."  
Rachel cheered and Paige smiled wider.

"That's great." She said happily.

Just then the phone rang and Annie hurried to answer it.

She picked up the phone; surprised as she was not expecting any other calls.

"Annie, it's me." The person on the other end said the moment she picked up the phone.

Annie smiled. "Hi Josh, what's wrong?"  
"I heard you and John were going out, I don't mind watching the girls."

Annie sighed. "It's okay Josh; I already called Carly; she said she'd do it"  
There was a pause before Josh finally replied. "Oh, right, I see. Nevermind mind then, later."

With that he hung up and Annie went to join her husband in getting ready for going out. Meanwhile, the two crooks Johnny and Maurice; sat on the sofa of the house they were hiding in. Their benefactor stepped into the room.

"Well; an unexpected turn of events." He said to them. "The girls will be alone with their babysitter tonight."  
Johnny nodded. "So, this is the chance you were waiting for?"

The man nodded. "Yes, go there tonight and bring Paige to me."

"It's not gonna be easy transporting her, she'll be unwilling, struggling; making noise." Maurice pointed out.

The man sighed. "Then tie her up, gag her; I don't care how, just get her here. We have a car, I got it under a fake name, disguise, just use it and get her, okay."

The crooks agreed and left the house.

Soon it was seven O'clock and Carly arrived at the Summers house. She was greeted at the door by Annie and let in.

"Carly, good to see you." She greeted happily. "The girls are in the living room."

Carly smiled and nodded before entering the house. She headed through to the living room and saw Paige playing peekaboo with Rachel. Rachel saw her first and smiled widely.

"Cawly-mama!" She cried out.

Carly smiled and lifted Rachel up as Paige stood up and hugged Carly.

"Hey Carly." She greeted joyfully.

Cradling Rachel with one arm Carly returned the hug and Annie and John stepped into the room.

"Mama."

Paige stepped back from the hug. "Hey mom, dad."  
Annie kissed her daughters, as did John.

"You both be good for Carly, okay." Annie told them. "We'll be back soon."

With that John and Annie left the house and Carly sat on the sofa, cradling Rachel. Paige sat on the sofa next to Carly and her little sister; Carly rocked the little girl to sleep. After putting Rachel in her crib Carly and Paige settled back to watch a movie. Carly however had her mind elsewhere; there was something she needed to ask Paige. Going by the young girl's expression she too wanted to ask Carly something; however Paige's expression suggested that her question was more light hearted, so Carly waited for her to speak first.

"Carly, I was wondering…What exactly happened between you and Freddie?" She asked.

Carly sighed and told Paige the truth; explaining everything so the nine year old could understand it.

After a brief pause Carly decided it was time to ask her question.

"Paige I…I need to ask you something." She began, hesitantly. "Do you…have some problem with your uncle? You were acting weird when he showed up at Christmas."

Paige sighed and lowered her head. "I don't…I don't wanna talk about it; it's nothing serious though." She added quickly.

Carly sighed but before she could ask further questions Rachel woke up crying. Carly went to see her and found the baby girl had a wet diaper.

"Let's go change you." Carly said softly.

Paige brightened up again as she approached. "Can I help?"

Carly agreed and together they got work changing Rachel's diaper. Unbeknownst to them Johnny and Maurice had arrived outside the house. They crept up to the window while Carly went to get the changing materials. Paige carried Rachel to the changing mat and set her down. The crooks approached the window, staying out of sight. They spotted Paige.

"That's her." Maurice breathed. Johnny nodded.

"Yes, that's her." He replied. "We better hurry; there should be something in the house to tie her up with."  
Just then Carly walked into the room and the crooks saw her. Maurice groaned.

"Oh man, not her again." He grumbled. "I'm out; let's get her some other time."  
Johnny sighed. "Yeah, alright; this was unexpected. We'll be ready next time, bring weapons, got it."  
Maurice agreed and they both left the area.

Later Carly had finished changing Rachel and had put her back in her crib. Paige had changed into her pyjamas and was ready to head for bed when John and Annie returned.

"So, how did it go?" Annie asked.

Carly smiled and replied. "Perfect, they both behaved themselves."  
Annie smiled. "Good."

Carly smiled and kissed Paige's forehead. "Good night Paige."  
"Night Carly." She said happily before heading off to bed.

Carly said good night to John and Annie and headed home; she confirmed with John and Annie that she would be willing to babysit again. None of them were aware of the close call that had nearly occurred.

* * *

End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.


	25. iMeet a New Guy

**iFeel a Change**

Next chapter of my iCarly story, enjoy.

**Reviews**

**PD31: Indeed things are getting creepy; glad you enjoyed it :)  
Boris Yeltsin: It sure was :)**

Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: iCarly belongs to Dan Schneider.

* * *

**iMeet a New Guy**

Two weeks following her babysitting the Summers girl, Carly was back in school. She was smiling, happy and relaxed for a change. He turned her head and paused when her eyes fell on Sam. Her female best friend was currently engaged in a passionate game of 'suck my face'. Carly smiled but inside her stomach writhed. While their friendship had been renewed, and while they were closer than ever, she was still uncertain about her feelings for Freddie. More precisely she was afraid of confronting those feelings. What if he was right; would it damage their only recently repaired friendship; she shuddered to think about it? She stood up and left the cafeteria; as she reached the corridor outside she collided with someone else.

"Oh, I'm sorry." She cried out as she straightened up.

She heard a soft laugh and then the figure replied. "Relax, it's nothing."

The speaker was male and had a strong Russian accent. Carly let out a relieved sigh, she then decided to introduce herself.

"Well; since we've met so spectacularly." She remarked, making him laugh. "I'm Carly Shay."

The boy's eyes widened. "No way, from iCarly?" She nodded and the boy smiled widely. "I'm a huge fan; Yuri Serdyukov. I just moved here from Russia."

Carly smiled and nodded as she took in his appearance properly for the first time. He was rather tall; with short jet black hair which seemed naturally messy and light blue eyes. He was undeniably good looking too; Carly bit her lip when she noted his appearance suggested a bad boy edge, something which usually made her weak-kneed.

Yuri smiled at her; friendly, but with a slight edge and Carly slowly wondered if she really knew what he was going to ask next.

He didn't disappoint when then asked. "So, Carly, I was wondering, do you...wanna go out sometime?"

She smiled and agreed; while she knew it felt wrong, and she felt she was using him. Yuri might be the one she needed, to take her mind of her messed up feelings with Freddie. So they exchanged phone numbers and then the bell went and they headed to class. After school she was walking home with the others. Carly smiled and decided now was as good a time as any to tell them.

"Hey guys, wait till you hear this..." She said excitedly and began to tell them about Yuri and the date he had asked her on.

They all smiled and congratulated her; even Freddie, although Carly swore there was something in Freddie's expression that meant he was hiding something.

'_Damn, another guy asking her out.'_ Freddie thought to himself, _'She accepted this time too. I...I feel...'_

Whatever his feelings however he simply smiled and, saying he had to pick something up, headed to apartment 8-D. He had recently moved back to his own apartment, but still ended up getting his mail at the old one.

When he walked in his mother noticed his expression. She sighed and approached him.

"Freddie."

He jumped and turned to her.

"Mom, hey." He greeted somewhat awkwardly.

She sighed and then asked. "What's wrong, you look...worried."

Freddie groaned and then shook his head. "It's Carly..." he then began to tell her about Yuri and how he was feeling.

Finally he reached the end. "To top it off; he asked her out, she said yes and I just feel..."

He trailed off but Marissa knew what he meant right away.

"You're jealous." She stated simply, Freddie nodded; accepting the painful truth. "I...I wish I could help you Freddie."  
"It's okay." He replied.

He knew there was nothing he could do just now anyway. Besides, he was certain in his faith of an old saying. If you love something, let it go; if it comes back it's yours, if not, it wasn't meant to be. He would just have to wait and see if Yuri turned out to not be the right one for Carly. That didn't make things any easier for him however; the pain was still there; plus there was the one unresolved issue that still needed to be taken care of.

"Mom." He said finally; Marissa tensed, as if she knew what was coming. "You need to sort things out with Carly."

Marissa sighed sadly. "I know; I just...wish I knew how."

Freddie nodded slowly before finally leaving for his own apartment. He wanted desperately for his mother and Carly to mend the breech between them. But like his mother, he had no clue how to do that.

Meanwhile, Carly was getting ready for her date that night. Sam was with her and the two were talking about Yuri. Carly was trying outfits for the date while Sam gave her opinion.

"You know Carls, maybe you should be careful." Sam said finally.

Carly was surprised at this. "Huh, what do you mean?"

Sam fumbled for a moment, trying to find the right words. Finally she made up her mind. "Maybe, there's a small chance that he might just be dating you because of iCarly...If you know what I mean."

Carly sighed; she knew what Sam meant; she had considered it herself, but was now reassured.

"Don't worry Sam, I'm sure that's not the case; everything will work out fine. So, what do you think of this one?"

Carly showed Sam her latest outfit; Sam smiled and nodded.

"Best one yet Carls." Sam remarked confidently.

Carly smiled and chose it; the outfit was black dress that sparkled lightly, it came down to her knees and was held up with spaghetti straps; a pair of black flats and a black clutch bag finished the outfit. After applying only the little make-up necessary Carly headed downstairs with Sam in tow. Yuri was already there, dressed in a rather laid back but fancy outfit, he was chatting with Bobby who knew some basic Russian. Yuri offered to help teach him so more. When he saw Carly Yuri stood up and smiled; then, taking her hand gently, they left the apartment for their date. From his window Freddie watched them go, feeling rather forlorn; wondering if maybe, just maybe, he had made a terrible mistake.

* * *

End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.


	26. iHave Trouble

**iFeel a Change**

Next chapter of my iCarly story, getting closer to the end now, hope you enjoy it.

**Reviews**

**Boris Yeltsin: Thanks, glad you enjoyed it :)  
PD31: Well, he's having a bit of bad luck at the moment, but trust me, things will work out, starting with the next chapter.**

Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: iCarly belongs to Dan Schneider.

* * *

**iHave Trouble**

Two weeks had passed since Carly had started dating Yuri. Freddie sighed as he watched them forlornly. They were talking and laughing; although occasionally a strange look would cross Carly's face. Almost as if she was remembering something; at least twice he could've sworn Carly looked his way with that expression still on her face.

'_I'm just fooling myself.'_ He thought mournfully. _'But, something about this doesn't feel right. Feels like she hasn't _really_ moved on, or is that just what I want to think?'_

He was shaken out of his thoughts by the arrival of Sam and Bobby. Sam noted his expression and sighed.

"You're not taking this well." She noted sadly.

Freddie rolled his eyes. "No duh."

Bobby sighed. "Is not righ'." He paused and then asked. "'Ave you told 'er yet?"  
Freddie shook his head sadly.

"I don't think she'd believe me." He remarked sadly.

Sam looked from Bobby to Freddie, confused.

"What are you guys talking about?"

"Yuri's not as great as Carly makes him out to be, she doesn't even know." Freddie explained. "He's let the fame of dating her get to his head, keeps bragging about it in the locker room after gym. Bobby and I hear it every day; it's ridiculous."

Bobby nodded; his usually cheerful expression replaced with absolute seriousness. "Is not good, not 'ealthy; he's turnin' 'er into some kin' o' trophy."  
Sam groaned and rolled her eyes; just as she feared. Yuri was only dating Carly for the game, yet Carly seemed unlikely to listen just now. They could only hope she would realize the truth soon.

Meanwhile, Carly and Yuri were still talking and laughing. Finally Yuri smiled as he leaned back in his seat.

"So Carly?" He asked; sounding just as casual as he looked. "Got any plans for tonight?"

Carly thought for a moment and then smiled. "Yeah actually; I'll be babysitting for a family friend."

Yuri seemed mildly surprised by this. "Oh?"

"Yeah, Annie Summers." Carly explained. "She's got two daughters; I'll be watching them tonight. Annie's out a work colleague's retirement party and her husband John is working late."

Yuri nodded. "I see; well cool. You know, if you want any help, I could pop around. I'm...not too bad with kids; I used to babysit my little cousin till she got older."

Carly smiled at that.

"Thanks, I should be okay, but if you want to pop around, that'd be great."

She did not give him the Summers address however as he knew they might not approve. Instead she told him the street and told him to call her when he got there; she would come out and meet him. He agreed to this and soon they left the cafeteria as the bell rang. Meanwhile; the two crooks were once again faced with a dilemma; their boss was angry.

"God dammit!" He growled. "That stupid girl keeps getting in the way. This time, I don't care what you think; subdue that girl, do whatever you have to do; just bring Paige to me."

They both nodded and left; this time they were ready, certain that nothing would stop them.

Not knowing about the plot brewing in the background; Carly arrived at the Summers house. She knocked on the door and Annie answered it.

"Carly, I'm glad you made it." She said relieved.

Carly nodded. "It's no trouble Annie; you have fun, I'll take care of the girls."

Annie nodded and led Carly to where Paige was changing Rachel. Annie said goodbye to her daughters and left the house. Paige finished changing Rachel and smiled as Carly picked the baby up. They sat on the sofa and Carly gently began to rock Rachel; who gripped Carly's shirt with her right hand; while sucking her left thumb.

"So how have you guys been?" Carly asked Paige.

The nine year old blonde smiled widely. "Pretty good; school's been fun, Rach has been learning more new words, she's started to cruise now."

Carly laughed happily at that. "Cool; won't be long until she's walking."

Paige nodded in response and their conversations turned to school. Carly noted Paige's reluctance to talk about gym but she pressed the issue and found out why. Paige was actually having difficulty in gym.

"It's not my fault." She insisted; "It's just I'm...so, well, clumsy."

Carly nodded sympathetically. "It's alright; I get what you're saying, at least you're trying."

Paige brightened up at that and then they both noticed Rachel had fallen asleep.

"I'll go put her in her crib, be right back." Carly said.

Paige nodded and waited while Carly headed upstairs with Rachel.

Carly smiled as she put Rachel down into her crib and left the room, after ensuring the baby monitor was set. She closed the door gently and then heard Paige's voice.

"Carly." The girl called, Carly thought she sounded a little tentative.

Carly headed downstairs; wondering what could be bothering her. She soon found out when she entered the living room, and found herself staring down the barrel of a gun. It was those two crooks again, Johnny and Maurice. Johnny stood aiming his gun at her; Maurice also held a gun, which he was pointing at Paige's head. His other hand was clamped over the young girl's mouth. Paige started at Carly, wide-eyed and terrified.

"Y-You." Carly stammered.

Johnny smiled. "That's right missy, and we're calling the shots so don't try anything. Sit on the sofa, don't move."

Carly did as she was told; shaking. Maurice let go of Paige and pointed his gun at Carly while Johnny then grabbed Paige.

"So you're Paige then, this is your home right." Paige nodded. "Then show me where you keep the duct tape."

Carly bit her lip, she knew what was coming now, but they had guns, so there was no choice. Paige looked to her for guidance and she nodded, so Johnny and Paige left the room, leaving Carly trapped with Maurice and his gun.

Soon Johnny and Paige returned; Carly had been getting uncomfortable with Maurice leering at her and wished she hadn't chosen to wear her denim skirt and black calf high boots that day. Johnny smirked widely and then gave his orders.

"Okay ladies; lie down on the floor; hands behind your back, cross your wrists."

Both of them trembled fearfully but did as they were told and before long their wrists were tightly bound with duct tape; they were moved onto the sofa again where their ankles were then bound.

"Any last words." Maurice asked viciously.

Carly bit her lip, refusing to give them any satisfaction and shot Paige a look warning her to do the same. Paige complied with that wish and said nothing, Maurice shrugged.

"Suit yourselves."

With that he and Johnny ripped off two more strips of duct tape and used them to tape the girls mouths shut. Now firmly gagged as well as bound they were helpless and Johnny's next order struck fear in their hearts.

"Okay, get Paige and let's get outta here."

"MMMMMMM MMMMMMMMMMMM!" Paige screamed into her gag.

Carly tried to beg the men to leave Paige alone, but being gagged made her words unintelligible. Maurice lifted Paige up and carried her over his shoulder as the crooks exited the house, leaving Carly bound and gagged on the sofa. Not long afterwards she heard the baby monitor as Rachel woke up crying.

The two crooks approached the car; Johnny opened the trunk and Maurice shoved Paige inside.

"MMM MMMMMMMMM!" The poor girl cried, her face streaked with tears.

"Shut it girly." Maurice snarled; Johnny laughed and added.

"Sit back and enjoy the ride."

Before they could go anywhere however Yuri suddenly appeared.

"Hey; what do you think you're doing!?" He yelled.

The crooks spun around and saw him, cursing their luck at being caught they tried to attack Yuri. This turned out to be a bad move on their part. Yuri was an expert at martial arts and soon turned the fight against them. Realizing they were beaten they made a last ditch attempt to flee; despite their injuries. However they were too slow, and by the time they drove away Yuri had pulled Paige out of the trunk and got her to safety. He gently peeled the tape off her mouth.

"Are you okay?" He asked. Paige nodded; deeply shaken.

"We have to get back, Carly's still..."

Yuri's attention was grabbed by that. "You're one of the girls Carly was babysitting; c'mon, I'll get you inside and get that tape off you. We can save her then, which house is yours."

Paige directed him and he hurried inside; carrying her. Inside Carly was crying.

'_John, Annie, forgive me, I've failed to keep them safe.'_

Just then she heard her name being called and her eyes widened. Paige was there, safe; Yuri was with her. Carly's heart leapt, Yuri had saved Paige, saved all of them. Yuri removed Carly's gag and then used the scissors to cut off their bonds. Once free Carly hurried to Rachel's aid.

When John and Annie later returned everything had calmed down again. Carly explained what had happened; Yuri adding his input for the part he played. Phone calls were made to the police and reports given and finally Carly was allowed to return home where she shared the news of what had happened with the others. They were shocked at the criminal's audacity, but at the same time, relieved that everything turned out okay. They received news the following day that Johnny and Maurice had been apprehended after checking into a hospital due to the injuries they had received from Yuri. Carly breathed a sigh of relief that, at last, those two were finally back behind bars.

* * *

End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.


	27. iSee the Truth

**iFeel a Change**

Next chapter of my iCarly story, enjoy.

**Reviews**

**Boris Yeltsin: Yup, glad you enjoyed it :)  
Sportsfan64: Yeah, it's pretty bad about Yuri; glad you enjoyed it. Well, wait and see how things pan out.**

Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: iCarly belongs to Dan Schneider.

* * *

**iSee the Truth**

Carly fought to keep her face neutral and nodded. Yuri was talking, more like bragging, about some of his latest accomplishments. Carly however wasn't happy; contrary to what she had thought, things were deteriorating. It was early May; they had only been dating for just barely two months. Yet already things were falling apart; she had overheard her friends talking about how Yuri was turning her into some sort of trophy girlfriend. She initially didn't believe it but soon found it to be true. It happened when they 'coincidently' ran into his friends on a date and they began talking to him, making remarks that made it clear they hadn't initially believed him. That convinced Carly it was a set up. However something else was bothering her, some strange feeling that stirred in her chest; she couldn't quite place it. One thing she knew for certain, Yuri was not the right guy for her.

'_He just keeps going on and on, I can barely get a word in edge-wise.' _She thought sadly. _'How could I have not noticed this before, and this feeling...?'_

Suddenly Yuri spoke directly to her; she just barely caught his question.

"So, are you busy tonight Carly?"

She nodded slowly. "I've got iCarly tonight." She lied; she knew why he was asking.

"I mean after that." He insisted. Carly sighed and shook her head. He smirked widely. "Cool, maybe I can come around then."

Carly frowned; _'Ugh, does he really think I'd let him go that far; besides, Spencer's there, he's got no chance.'_

She knew Yuri just wanted to be alone with her to sleep with her; however her thoughts were cut off by him kissing her. Swallowing the bile in her throat she reluctantly kissed back.

The kiss did nothing for her; she didn't feel any spark or anything that made it enjoyable. What it did do however was put her thoughts and feelings into a strange sort of clarity. Her mind raced as she found herself comparing Yuri's kiss to Freddie's. More thoughts came to her mind regarding Freddie and suddenly her eyes widened. It was as if something clicked in her mind. It was interrupted however Yuri's hand sliding up her leg, under the hem of her dress; the other going to the zip at the back. She immediately pulled away and slapped him across the face.

"What the hell?!" Yuri yelled in response. "You just slapped me!"  
"You tried to grope me, like hell I'm going that far with you!" She yelled back.

Yuri glared at her. "I gave you a chance to experience something great but you..."

"Enough!"

Carly turned and began to storm away. "We're through!"

Yuri growled and shook his head before also leaving, muttering angrily as he stalked off. Carly finally made it home; her rage had died down slightly and she outwardly looked calm. Inside however her emotions were storming and confusing her more and more. Spencer looked up and saw her.

"Carls?" He asked, concerned as she was finding it difficult to keep her inner turmoil off her face.

Carly managed a light smile and walked over to him.

"Well I broke up with Yuri. You guys were right about him." She explained, her voice sounding oddly bland to her ears.

Spencer stared at her in surprise until she told him she needed some time alone to think and she hurried up to her room.

Meanwhile over in apartment 8D, Freddie, now out of his back brace, was talking with his mother.

"It happened just like I feared mom." He told her. "Now Carly knows the truth about Yuri, but...I think she's scared or something."

Marissa nodded. "She didn't seem too happy when she came back just now."

Freddie sighed. "I can't take this anymore mom; I have to tell her the truth. I made a mistake, I should never have broken up with her."

Marissa sighed.

"No, it's all my fault Freddie; the way I treated Carly; everything." She lowered her head and then nodded. "I need to fix things too; let's go over and try and sort this out, okay."  
Freddie gaped, surprised by his mother's words.

"Mom, are you feeling alright?" He asked. "I thought you hated Carly."

Marissa shook her head. "Like I said, I was wrong; let's go."

Freddie smiled and nodded and together, mother and son headed over to apartment 8C. While this was going on Spencer was lost in thought.

'_Carly. I just hope she's okay.'_ He worried about his younger sister. _'She's been so messed up these past several months; ever since September. Well, at least she's out of that relationship now.'_

Spencer was torn out of his thoughts by a knock at the door. He answered it and saw Freddie and Mrs. Benson standing in the threshold.

"Oh, hey." He greeted, surprised to see them.

He let them in, finally Mrs. Benson asked.

"Is Carly in?"

Spencer noted she seemed hesitant but he nodded and told them she was in her room. To his surprise it was Mrs. Benson who went up first, Freddie sat on the sofa and waited.

After going up to her room Carly threw herself onto the bed and closed her eyes. Her mind continued to race.

'_Freddie.'_ He thoughts went towards him immediately and without effort. _'I was wrong; I should never have accepted us splitting up at all; should never have let him go. Now look what's happened.'_

She sighed and reached out for the picture next to her bed. It was a picture of her and Freddie, along with Rachel. It had been taken the day before the Summers came to pick her up. Carly smiled as she looked at the picture, noticing things she hadn't before. The lightly toned muscles, the fact he was now taller than her. The casual smile on his face as he looked out the corner of his eye at her and Rachel. Carly put the picture down, feeling her heart speed up. She then remembered the dream she had last night. The same dream she had when she and Freddie were taking care of Rachel. After the rescue her dreams of Freddie had felt, what she saw now as, absurdly fairy tale like. But her dream last night, and the ones from before, they had been realistic and made her feel happier than the obvious false ones. She knew she couldn't hold back any longer, she had to try and set things right. Just then a knock at the door disturbed her.

"Yes?" She called out, confused.

She did not expect the reply she got, or the hesitant way in which she heard it.

"Carly, it's Mrs. Benson, can I come in?"

* * *

End of chapter, just one more chapter to go, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please :)


	28. iHave Something to Tell You

**iFeel a Change**

Final chapter of my iCarly story, enjoy.

**Reviews**

**PD31: Thanks, glad you enjoyed it; afraid not as the story was well planned out in advance. That was the whole point, the build up of everything that had occurred.**

Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: iCarly belongs to Dan Schneider.

* * *

**iHave Something to Tell You**

Carly stood up from the bed, wary. What was Mrs. Benson doing here; she walked over and opened the door. Mrs. Benson stood there; Carly bit her lip, remembering the last time she had properly spoken to Mrs. Benson.

"Come to blame me for something else I haven't done?" She asked; angry at the injustice.

Mrs. Benson however shook her head; she looked, surprisingly contrite.

"No…I…I need to talk to you; I've made a terrible mistake."

Carly was taken aback by this; but she nodded and stepped back, letting Mrs. Benson in. Once inside they both sat on the bed. There was silence for a while until Mrs. Benson sighed.

"I was wrong."

Carly blinked, confused. "About?"

Mrs. Benson bowed her head and then admitted. "Everything; I thought I was doing what was best for Freddie; I was wrong."  
Carly was shocked by this, wondering what had happened to change Mrs. Benson's mind.

"Do…" She hesitated but then continued. "Do you know what happened to Freddie's father?"

Carly shook her head; wondering what Mrs. Bensons was getting at.

"He died; Freddie was only six at the time." Mrs. Benson let out a choked sob before speaking again. "He was on his way home from work, but he saw an out of control car and a girl who was in the way. She froze up, you can relate to that, right?"

Carly nodded, shuddering as she remembered the car that nearly hit her.

Mrs. Benson swallowed thickly then continued. "He dove to save her and the car hit him…he was crushed against a wall and…and died, instantly."

Mrs. Benson gasped and another sob escaped her.

Carly sat; stunned by what she had just heard. However something still didn't sit right with her.

"Why did your anger out on me?" She asked; curiously.

Mrs. Benson straightened up and let out a shaky breath. "Think about it; when Freddie…When I heard Freddie had been hit by that car. I thought I was history repeating itself. When I heard he had done it to save I just…couldn't take it."

Carly felt herself gasp this time as she realized the full implication of what she had just been told.

"So you see. I was wrong…I'm terribly sorry." Mrs. Benson choked out. "I don't expect you to forgive me; but I wanted you to know the truth."

Carly however embraced Mrs. Benson; surprised by this Mrs. Benson sat still for a moment before returning the embrace with relief. Meanwhile; downstairs, Freddie and Spencer sat on the sofa.

"So…" Spencer began. "Your mom is…?"

Freddie nodded. "Yeah, I'm just wondering how Carly's going to take it." He shook his head. "Whatever happens I just want her to be happy."

Spencer gaped at Freddie. "Hold it, you're not serious. You have to stand up Freddie; to win the heart of a girl like Carly; you gotta fight for her."

Freddie sighed. "I'm not saying that; it's just…"  
"Think about it." Spencer said suddenly. "You've sacrificed and risked so much for her; do you think any of those other guys would've willingly thrown themselves in front of a car for her."

Freddie sighed and smiled widely, Spencer was right; he just had to make his move.

Finally, at that moment; Mrs. Benson came down the stairs and smiled to them.

"That's…we've sorted everything out." She said. "I'm heading back over; Freddie, you should go talk to Carly."

He nodded and hurried upstairs. Carly was still sitting on her bed when he came in. She smiled when she saw them.

"Hey." She greeted him, her voice softer than he had ever heard it.

He shifted awkwardly for a minute. "So, mom apologized to me and told me everything. I guess she spoke to you to."

Carly nodded.

"Yeah; Freddie I'm sorry; about your dad."

Freddie swallowed nervously. "So, mom told you about that."  
Carly nodded and Freddie decided to make his move.

"Carly; I have something I need to tell you." He stated. "We need to sort this out…I think you should know. Despite everything that's happened these past several months I've never given up on you."

Carly felt tears forming in her eyes. Finally they broke out and she shook her head.

"I'm sorry Freddie; I'm so sorry. I never; I should've never…"

Freddie smiled and hugged Carly; she returned the hug. Finally; without any hesitation, they kissed. It had been so long since they had both experienced the overwhelming feelings that their kisses brought to each other. They parted, breathless; Freddie smiled when he saw Carly. Her hair was now tousled; her lips swollen; she laughed before trying to speak.

"Freddie…I…"  
He smiled. "I know, it's alright."

She smiled back and they kissed again. Relieved that they had finally sorted everything out.

The following morning Carly woke up happier than she had felt in a long time. After getting dressed and heading downstairs she greeted her brother cheerfully and after breakfast she left the apartment. The moment she stepped outside Freddie was waiting for her. They shared a brief chaste kiss and with their hands entwined they left for school. When they arrived they saw Sam and Bobby immediately.

"'Ey; good ta see ya." Bobby called out when they arrived.

Sam turned to face them; smiling widely when she saw them holding hands. "So, everything all sorted out then, lovebirds."

Carly laughed and nodded. "You bet. Well, let's go; everyone's gonna find out sooner or later. Best not keep them waiting."  
The others nodded and together they headed into the school. There were gasps at first and then cheers when everybody saw Carly and Freddie together. Carly tensed however when Yuri disentangled himself from the crowd and came over to them.

"Carly." He said; she noted that he didn't seem angry so she relaxed slightly. "I just wanted to say sorry; I was stupid. Could you forgive me?"

Carly frowned for a moment but the slight answering pressure from Freddie's hand reassured her and she nodded.

Yuri smiled and nodded. "Thank you; oh and by the way…" He added with a sly smirk. "You guys make a great couple."

With that remark he walked off smirking. Carly rolled her eyes and laughed; kissing Freddie's cheek. She could hear people speculating how long they would last this time; but she didn't care. She had Freddie; Sam and Bobby were happy together too; as far as Carly was concerned, that was all that mattered.

* * *

End of chapter and of story, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.


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